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Constructed between 1947 and 1950 on a lava field in the south of Mexico City, Casa Pedregal, originally the Casa Prieto Lopez, is the largest private residence designed by the architect Luis Barragan and the first house built in the pioneering Jardines del Pedregal development that he conceived. Barragan laid out the whole quarter on the rugged volcanic terrain left by an ancient eruption, aiming to create a modern way of living that worked with the dark, iron-hard rock rather than against it, and the house set the standard for the entire neighbourhood, which became a byword for mid-century sophistication. Barragan designed not only the building but its gardens, furnishings and decoration, painting the concrete planes in his characteristic warm earth tones so that they stand in constant contrast to the rough black stone and the native plants he preserved. The Prieto Lopez family lived here until 2006, after which the house fell into decline before a careful restoration returned it to its original state. It is now open for guided tours by appointment, often combined with a visit to the adjoining restaurant. The Jardines del Pedregal scheme of which this house was the showpiece was a bold idea for its time, taking a forbidding expanse of black volcanic rock long considered worthless and turning it into one of the most exclusive residential districts in the country, and Barragan's vision of large houses set within walled gardens among the preserved lava and native plants drew the wealthy southward and reshaped the growth of the city. The house itself is the fullest expression of those ideas, its terracotta and earth-toned planes rising from and folding into the dark stone, its interlinked living, dining and breakfast rooms opening onto the gardens through great windows, and part of the structure built down into the sloping ground so that architecture and landscape merge. The Prieto Lopez family lived here for more than half a century before the house passed through a period of neglect, and a thorough restoration in the years that followed returned it as closely as possible to Barragan's original conception, recovering colours, finishes and details that had been altered over the decades. Now opened for guided visits by appointment, often paired with a meal at the restaurant in an adjoining building, the house has become a place of pilgrimage for admirers of modern architecture and a key monument in understanding the work of Mexico's most celebrated architect.