A Caribbean Gold Rush

VE: I think It is a very good time to start your own architectural office. However, competition has increased, therefore you also have to work harder to find a way to undertake your own projects. Nobody will give you the money “just because”. If you want to construct a building, you must find the budget, the money, and the plot, and then carry out the project. Once you start doing this, everything proceeds smoothly. Significant amounts of money are being invested in Mexico from Europe and the US: new developments are being built by local and international investors, especially here in Cancun, one of the most touristic areas of the country. There is always money flowing into Mexico. You just have to find a way to catch the wave, like paddling in the water. During the COVID pandemic, everything stopped for a few months, just like elsewhere in the world. However, we as a country realised that stopping construction would result in massive unemployment. Consequently, we decided that construction, a primary income source for the country, could not be halted. Alongside oil and infrastructure, construction is crucial to Mexico's economy. Mexico never closed its borders. There were still many people coming in. This allowed us to continue working and moving forward. If you look at my computer, you can see the number of projects and quotations we delivered each year. In 2018, 2019, and 2020, the numbers doubled. Now they are returning to normal levels. During that time, people had the money and the time to invest in new projects. While the world halted, Mexico continued to progress, not by running, but steadily moving forward. Had we stopped, our economy would have suffered greatly. Mexico is a country with many challenges, and we could not afford to halt economic activities. We kept working and building, and this helped us significantly. This situation can be understood in two ways: as a collective response from the country to keep moving forward, and as an individual opportunity for firms like ours to thrive amidst global challenges. 

Cancun is a tourist area and a major attraction. It has tourism and natural wonders like cenotes, the ocean, and the jungle. People enjoy living in the city, but we often strive to reconnect with nature, and Cancun offers that opportunity. The city was developed as a government investment project to boost tourism in the 70’s. The goal was to develop tourism by building hotels. However, the people who work in these hotels need housing, so Cancun became a place where everyone could come and try their luck. It is like the Wild West, if you want to work and accomplish something, it is “the place to be”. There is significant investment from hotel companies, as well as private individuals. Holiday spots are always good investments because they can be rented out. Airbnb has played a crucial role in this growth. Before Airbnb, tourism was mainly controlled by hotels. Now, Airbnb allows people to rent out their homes and earn money easily. It has been a game-changer. This region, called Quintana Roo, is the newest state in Mexico. It was the last state to be annexed to Mexico as a country. It is very rich in natural resources because of its Caribbean coasts, which had never been developed. The global economic system seeks opportunities to make money, and Quintana Roo offers kilometres of undeveloped land ready to be sold to anyone who is interested. Many areas in Mexico are open to development. However, we have not learned from our past mistakes: Playa del Carmen, built in the late 1980s and 1990s, and then Tulum in the early 2000s proved our willingness to conquer new areas and build as much as possible with not so very nice results. 

Building dreams, breaking barriers

VE: I went to Madrid to do my master's degree. When I finished, I did not want to return to Mexico. We had an old government, and from my perspective, things were becoming violent even then. I was happy in Europe and wanted to stay there because I still had things to learn. After completing my master's degree, I got a job in Switzerland. I lived and worked there, and I was very happy. The quality of life was good, and I could travel everywhere. I visited Mexico twice a year to see my family. However the frustration of not designing my own projects grew. I was working for an office and only designing what I was told to do. Although I learned a lot and am grateful for that experience, I wanted to create something of my own.

When I eventually returned to Mexico, I planned to open my own office, expecting projects to pour in due to my master's degree and international experience. However, that did not happen. I started working for Infonavit, the social housing ministry, for almost three years. There, I became familiar with regulations, permits, and the broader picture of what was happening in Mexico. I realised that most of the regulations in Mexico are outdated. In the past 12 to 15 years, they have not changed. In places like Cancun, which tripled in size in 10 years, these outdated regulations hinder development. The way we conceive and build cities is outdated because  these old regulations. I came back to Mexico partly because of the change in administration, which promised many changes. However, I was still frustrated. I also realised how outdated our city regulations were. These factors led me to resign from my government position. 

This is where Juan Carral comes in. Juan is an architect and a friend I collaborate with on many projects. The day I resigned, Juan called me. He mentioned a piece of land in Cancun and asked if I had money to buy it so we could develop a building together. At that time, after finishing my job with Infonavit, I received some money, which helped us start this new venture. I sold my apartment, which was small but had become a good investment. I told Juan that I had the money, and we bought the land. That plot later became what Edificio Huachinango 36 is. It took more time because of the need to gather money and get the necessary permissions. But this made me move to Cancun and start building there. Juan was very supportive because, at that time, I had no projects. He always included me in his work. We negotiated a deal for our first project, La Casa Que Crece. Instead of paying me, we agreed to share credit for the project equally. This project was credited to both Juan Carral and myself. This agreement started our working relationship. Suddenly I found myself collaborating with Juan on many other projects: we worked on the Donceles building together and I got involved with the Donceles Group. This journey marked the beginning of my practice in Cancun.

Housing vision, practical precision

VE: We're always learning from our past mistakes and applying that knowledge to find new solutions. It's more about continuous learning than experimenting. We are also very pragmatic. This is something I learned from Juan, who learned it from Javier Sanchez, who in turn, I believe,  learned it from his father. We follow an architectural path that is very constructive and coherent. The way we build is directly related to how the final structure will look. The function of the building, whether it is housing, a public space, or a commercial venue, dictates how we construct it. The construction method determines its appearance and functionality.

We are always learning and applying that knowledge to find new solutions. We are pragmatic because we consider the construction process from the very beginning of the design. We think about how it will be built: the number of beams and bolts, whether it will be concrete or wood. If it is wood, the approach is different than if it is steel or concrete, and so on. We always keep in mind how things are built and recognise our limitations as a country. We have an artisanal economy, not a high-tech one. We are not Germany; we cannot construct high-rise buildings in the same way. If you look at high-rise buildings in Mexico City, like those by Benjamin Romano or Alberto Kalach, they use concrete and some steel, but mainly concrete. We know how to work with brick and concrete. Mexico's construction methods are not as advanced as those in some other countries.

We are very passionate about housing, especially collective housing. Housing, in the end, is about how people live and interact with the city. The city is one of the best inventions of humankind. We are constantly learning how to improve it and how to live in it. It is a complex, ever-growing, and ever-changing entity. We love housing and believe that the way we live and the spaces we inhabit determine many aspects of our lives. We are very passionate about these community-based types of projects such as Donceles, because they keep us happy and thoughtful. However, you cannot always live on happiness and passion alone, so we must be also pragmatic and earn money. That's why we also have projects in Puerto Cancun, such as single-family houses built for a different kind of client, with a different or even non-existent connection to the city. In these projects, we can also experiment and learn solutions that we can apply elsewhere, and vice versa. 

It's like having two practices. One practice involves projects we are passionate about and enjoy working on. The other practice involves projects that generate income to keep the office running and pay the bills. We learn from both. Projects like Donceles give us the energy to continue doing architecture. They allow us to explore housing typologies, how the house is developed through its section, how people live in the section, and how to make floor plans more efficient. These projects let us question ourselves and apply those insights to our architectural work.

Since the PMU and the COVID pandemic, along with the government investment in infrastructure projects, there has also been a focus on public buildings. These buildings play an important role in the city, and it is essential to make them efficient and represent our architectural vision. These three lines, housing projects, single-family houses, and public buildings, have kept our office going. Each line has its own path of experimentation, contributing to our overall growth and learning.

The Broken Window Theory

VE: Gentrification has a negative impact when it forces the original residents out. Our aim is not to displace the original dwellers but to bring new people into a consolidated neighbourhood. Donceles is a well-established neighbourhood, having been here since the 1980s, for nearly 40 years. The community that lives in Donceles has been here from the start, and we do not want them to leave. The other way around. The Donceles Project takes abandoned pieces of land and revitalises them. For example, after Hurricane Wilma in 2005, many houses were flooded up to two metres. As a result, many residents left, and the abandoned houses became problematic, attracting garbage and insecurity. The first project that Juan and his cousin built was an empty house on a corner plot, overgrown with vegetation. By intervening in these problematic spots, we are not gentrifying but solving issues. We want our neighbours to stay and improve the quality of life for everyone.

You might have heard of the “Broken Window Theory”, right? If you have a broken window and do nothing about it, people will continue to damage it until it is destroyed. We are trying to stop that process. We take the “broken window” and replace it with a new housing building with new inhabitants. We provide the infrastructure, public spaces, restaurants, bars, and offices to generate a community. This happens on the ground level. On the other levels, we have dwellings. Housing for new people, housing for new dwellers, and housing for profiles that have been neglected in Cancun. This includes recently divorced individuals, young couples who cannot afford a bigger house, and those who need a temporary home while changing jobs from one city to another. These housing typologies were not considered in the broader picture of Cancun. 

In the meantime, we negotiate with the original residents and renovate public spaces, improving the area. These are often tiny dwellings, but the size does not matter if there is a quality public space in front of it. As long as there are other spaces in the surroundings that can complement your housing program, the living experience is enhanced. When you visit a larger city, you often find traditional buildings alongside gentrified ones, which offer various amenities like gyms, cafés, bars, and co-working spaces all in one building. This setup attracts new residents who can live their lives within the building without needing to leave. However, this approach does not encourage the exchange of knowledge or social interactions with the broader community.

What we're doing here is spreading everything out. One building has a bar, another has a café, another has a gym, another has offices, and another has a workspace. This setup forces people to walk from one place to another. These movements create encounters, which strengthen and build the social fabric of the city. You become familiar with your own neighbourhood. As you walk around, you greet people with a “Good morning,” or a “Hi, how are you?” because they see you every day. You become part of the community, not an outsider.

Spaces that feel like home

VE: We do not consider ourselves experts in sociology or human connections. Instead, we design based on our feelings and preferences. When we create something, we ask ourselves if we would like to live there. “Would I enjoy living here? Would I use this public space? What would I need in this plaza?” Shadow, protection, light, and good pavement are basic elements we consider. We think about fundamental human desires. It is not about being special, it is about understanding what is needed to make a space appealing. Shadow, vegetation, and adequate lighting at night for safety are crucial. Each dwelling overlooks the public space, ensuring that it is always observed. If someone tries to cause trouble, there are 40 apartments overlooking the area, and people will notice. Because the public space is always watched, undesirable activities decrease. There might be a sociological term for this, but for us, it is simply about designing spaces where we would like to live.

Every dwelling we design, every house we create, we ask ourselves: “Would you live here?” Yes, of course. In fact, we do live here. Our office is located in one the buildings we renovated, and we encourage others, including our friends, to live here too. We aim to create a community on the ground floor, in the public space. Inside our homes, how we live is our own business. But on the ground floor, in the public space, we create connections by encouraging people to walk. While you and I talk here, 70 people have walked by. If there was a wall here and a car behind it, people might throw garbage or urinate on the street. Because we have activity on the ground floor, the space becomes safer. We try to generate that sense of safety and familiarity. We get acquainted with our neighbours because we see them passing by every day.

Every Friday, I take my laundry to Don Jesús. I ask him, “Don Jesús, how are you? How's your grandkid? What about your family?” Architecture is only meaningful if it generates human connections. Architecture without human connections means nothing. Human connection can be a conversation between us, a discussion with my partner about an architectural program, or cuddling with my girlfriend. If architecture cannot generate human connections, what's the point? How would I like to live? How would I like my city to be? Should I build taller walls to feel safer, or should I bring the walls down and connect my building to the city? Do I close off my building from the city, or do I open my gates? The first attempts might be difficult, and you might encounter resistance. After years of neglect, society can become aggressive. But when you come in peace and open your doors, inviting others into your space, things change, and you generate human connections.

In constant adaptation

VE: The Basilica became a church. Later, the church can become a cultural centre. You don't demolish it; you adapt it because the structure allows it. This type of thinking applies to both housing and public infrastructure, giving cities spaces where people can meet and interact. We would like to bring this approach to Cancun. We have been working with the government to build more fire stations and gymnasiums in the city. These public spaces are where people can develop and grow, fostering human development. 

We design buildings to be flexible and adaptable over time. For example, we might design a space that can be transformed. On the top floor, if you demolish the wall in the middle, you can change one 90-square-metre studio or two 45-square-metre studios into a large three-bedroom dwelling. We haven't needed to do this yet, but the structure allows it. Regarding materials, we use wood, concrete, and marble for finishes. We often use concrete blocks because we are a rough country, and we need to learn how to build with new materials. Whether we are talking about housing, public infrastructure, single-family houses, or interiors, we always consider these elements. Comfort and materials might vary slightly depending on the project type. However, we approach all architecture with the same mindset: how it will be built, how it will work, and how it will adapt over time. Adaptation, flexibility, and resilience are key principles, reflecting the needs of the modern world.

One professor I had during my master's degree, Dietmar Eberle from Baumschlager & Eberle Architekten, had a significant impact on me. He explained a concept involving different time frames that changed the way we approach architecture at the office: 200, 100, 50, 25, and 10. These figures are nothing more than a number we apply for the lifetime periods of our architectural decisions. Thus, the 200 years stand for the fundamental decisions that fall on urban implications. For the 100 years, is a sensible requirement for the structure and vertical solutions of the building, which can only be modified with lot of resources. The average lifespan of the facades is 50 years. The other time frames, 25 and 10 years, can relate to typology (interior design) and technological updates or finishings, respectively, which require more frequent changes. Understanding these time frames helps us create buildings that are adaptable and resilient, meeting both current and future needs.

We always consider these time frames because they are crucial. The most important aspects are how the structure can adapt over time and how it relates to the city and its fabric. If you fail to consider the relationship to the city and the building's adaptability, it might be demolished and rebuilt, which is a failure in terms of sustainability. Sustainability also means how long you can keep a building standing. The Pantheon in Rome has been there for 2,000 years. It was a temple, then a church, and now it's a historic monument. It's well-built, it’s part of the city, and people protect it. We would love to think that we will be able to do the same with the projects we built.