2164 MEXICO (Mexico City) - Central University City Campus of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNESCO WHS)

2164 Central University City Campus of the Universidad
Nacional Autónoma de México - Estadio Olímpico
Universitario

The ensemble of buildings, sports facilities and open spaces of the Central University City Campus of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), was built in Coyoacán borough in the southern part of Mexico City from 1949 to 1952 by more than 60 architects, engineers and artists who were involved in the project, the main architects being Mario Pani and Enrique del Moral. At the time of its completion it was the largest single construction project in Mexico since the Aztecs.

The campus constitutes a unique example of 20th-century modernism integrating urbanism, architecture, engineering, landscape design and fine arts with references to local traditions, especially to Mexico’s pre-Hispanic past. The ensemble embodies social and cultural values of universal significance and is one of the most significant icons of modernity in Latin America. All the fundamental components of the original ensemble remained and no major changes have been introduced.

Built in 1952, Estadio Olímpico Universitario was at that time the largest stadium in Mexico. It hosted the  1955 Pan American Games, the 1968 Summer Olympics, and also 4 matches of 1986 FIFA World Cup. Its stands, which contain reliefs designed by Diego Rivera, were built with excavated lava rock, and one of the most renowned architecture of the Ciudad Universitaria de Mexico is the area of the Frontones.

About the stamps
The first stamp is part of a very large series Soumaya Meseum Collection, about which I wrote here. The second is one of the four of the series Mexican Christmas 2013, about which I wrote here.

References
Central University City Campus of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México - UNESCO official site
Ciudad Universitaria - Wikipedia
Estadio Olímpico Universitario - Wikipedia

Sender: Benjamin Arredondo / El Bable
Sent from Salamanca (Guanajuato / Mexico), on 24.01.2014