Interview realised with
JD: Javier Dueñas Estrada | JO: Jaime de Obeso Nuñez 
GL: Gloria Lopez | GO: Gabriela Olivares 
RC: Rodrigo Carreon | VC: Viviane Carrera

Guadalajara and the escuela tapatía

JD: Talking about Guadalajara, the city's significance can largely be attributed to its geographical location. Positioned in the centre of the country, Guadalajara was established as a trading hub. As a result, most goods travelling from the south to the north or vice versa pass through the city. This strategic position essentially defines its existence. Consequently, we witness a variety of activities and influences passing through. However, Guadalajara also boasts a very traditional and conservative culture with a strong emphasis on family values. This creates a unique dynamic where the city oscillates between conservative and liberal ideologies. Living here involves navigating these contrasting views daily. Thus, residents are often compelled to reevaluate their actions continually, influenced by the constant flux of new ideas and the deep-seated cultural identity that defines them. I believe this explains why many prominent Mexicans, not just from Guadalajara but from this region, are diverse professionals such as architects, artists, chefs, athletes, filmmakers, writers, and painters. This region is also the birthplace of tequila and mariachi, both central to Mexican identity. This context is where we find ourselves, continually balancing conservative and liberal influences. This duality is reflected in our architecture: our buildings often feature intimate, enclosed spaces with small windows, yet they also include expansive gardens, patios, and terraces that foster openness. 

JO: It's interesting to note that around the 1940s, the School of Architecture in Guadalajara was established. The founders of this school were pioneers of architecture in Guadalajara and possibly in Mexico as well. These figures included Luis Barragán and Ignacio Díaz Morales, among others. They invited European architects to teach at the school, which perhaps laid the foundations for a distinct architectural identity. In Spanish, this is known as Arquitectura tapatía, which is quite unique. Over time, new generations have continued to develop and evolve these ideas into what characterises the architecture of today.

JD: The foundation originates directly from what those architects in the 1940s accomplished. They focused intensely on designing private homes, specifically domestic spaces. Arquitectura tapatia has some very recognisible characteristics. For instance, you always have what we call a zaguán, which is a reception area just for welcoming guests. From there, you directly enter a terrace, followed by a patio, which is as well a space you can find in many houses representative of this style. The transition between the outside and the inside is consistently present and, in some way, is a distinctive sign of the architecture in Guadalajara. You might notice that although there are many outdoor spaces, public places, and parks, most of life in Guadalajara takes place within homes. The people are very hospitable, and they enjoy hosting guests. It’s quite common for a breakfast to extend into a dinner and a dinner to lead into the next day's breakfast.

From arches to innovation

RC: We are currently sitting in what would be the dining room of Casa Fuente, originally named Casa Ave Maria. The house was built around the late 1990s by Adolfo Hernandez and perfectly represents the Escuela de Arquitectura Tapatia. We now use it as our office because we mainly focus on residential architecture, so it's fitting to be in a space that reflects our geographical and cultural context. You'll notice the arches, clay floors, great heights, thick walls, and spaces like the window seat that allows direct contact with a patio. This blurs the line between being inside and outside, creating a very enriching living experience.

VC: We are organised into three main divisions: architecture, construction, and research. All teams work closely and harmoniously to develop a project with a consistent vision from its inception to completion. This approach is integral to the development process of a project. We start with an in-depth research phase to understand the project's challenges. In the architecture phase, we shape and form the insights gained from our research. Finally, in the construction phase, we materialise all these plans. This division into three areas defines our organisation and influences our working methods. 

JD: Each area continuously enriches the others. This makes this house ideal for such an environment. This characteristic facilitates the development of relationships between the three divisions. The terrace is a casual meeting place where builders, architects, and researchers can collaborate. Additionally, we have a fourth area focused on developing new projects. From our experience, we've learned that a project can take two to four years of your life, which can be very stressful. Therefore, we must carefully select the projects and ventures we will dedicate our lives to. This fourth division is responsible for assessing potential clients to determine if we are the right fit for them and if they are the right clients for us. We believe you must keep learning and progressing; otherwise, you stagnate professionally. There came a point when our team, as you see here, decided we needed to change our approach to practice. First, It was crucial to have a great space to work in, which we've already discussed, but also to improve how we collaborate and organise ourselves. 

We initially focused exclusively on designing private homes. However, we reached a point where we needed to expand our horizons and start working with different communities. We also began valuing our lifestyle and how it integrates into our daily practice, and we chose to keep it small. Instead of expanding, we opted to maintain our size and focus on quality and meaningful projects. We decided to remain compact, but we've discovered over the years that collaboration within a group like ours is very enriching. Many people who have worked here have moved on, yet we still benefit from the help of those who have been with us in the past. In this sense, we are a large team but physically small. This dynamic sparked our curiosity, and at this site, we were eager to explore different types of projects, ones not specifically requested by clients but driven by our interests in research, design, and development. That's why we founded this studio. We wanted to focus on imagining and creating projects that stem from our ideas and passions.

Building beyond blueprints

JD: I have a mentor who once told me that talent as an architect isn't enough; if I wanted to pursue a career in architecture, I needed to learn how to deal with clients and create a collaborative team. That was a pivotal moment in my career, opening up a new aspect of professional practice that I had not mastered before. Then, I joined a practice where I was invited to work and met Jaime. We eventually became directors of that firm and partners, discovering a very interesting dynamic between designing and building.

JO: Yes, we met at our previous firm, where we were partners and directors for over 15 years. There, we realised our approaches to architecture and construction complemented each other. I have always been more focused on construction and detailing, particularly on the executive side of the practice. My approach to architecture has centred on adding value and providing solutions that enhance the materialisation of designs, aiming to distinguish them from standard practices. This realisation has come through several years of experience.

JD: At university, no one taught us how to design a practice. So, despite being designers, we worked for many years without designing how we practice. Over the last three years, we have focused on designing how we want to operate and practice. It was like designing a project. Just as we approach a client's project, we approach the design of our practice. Through this process, we developed what we call a collaborative model. We designed a set of meetings, practices, and methods to ensure this idea could function effectively.

People, places, and partnerships

JD: A few key elements are always present in all the projects we undertake. First and foremost are the people involved, our clients. We dedicate significant time to understanding our clients: their interests, fears, and family dynamics, as well as the people carrying out the work for them. We place a strong emphasis on understanding the individuals involved. Since most of our work involves designing homes, we find it crucial to comprehend the people who will live there to ensure each house is unique and tailored. Another constant factor is understanding the location of our projects. Whether it's a city, beach, countryside, or a small town, we spend considerable time getting to know the place. This deep understanding helps us tailor our designs to suit the specific environment. Then, we believe that each project we design and build has its unique story behind it, which we cherish and aim to preserve. The final element is collaboration. Who are the people who will work on this project? We believe that the success of a project resides in the intersection of these four elements. 

GO: Molusco Pantera is a great example of these concepts. The client, Kenya Rodriguez, is an interior designer with whom I had previously worked on other projects in her professional capacity. However, this time, it was her own house, making the collaboration especially interesting as we shifted from working with her as a professional to working with her as a client. We worked very closely with her, Javier, and everyone involved, including woodworkers and steelworkers, as well as the materials' suppliers. This level of collaboration was truly fascinating and rewarding. The location of the house was also crucial. It was situated on a very narrow and long piece of land. We already had a construction on the site, which greatly influenced the arrangement of the spaces in the project. It's almost like a labyrinth because you must navigate it to discover the various spaces. Each section of the house has a distinct personality, reflecting the individual family members. Getting to know the people we work for and understanding the place really came together well in this project, along with the aspect of collaboration. 

Context-based design mastery

JD: We prefer to be close to the projects we undertake. As a result, many of our projects are nearby, whether in the countryside, on the coast, or in the city. However, this approach has also led us to work in various parts of Mexico. In some years, we have undertaken projects in the United States and Latin America. Therefore, our work spans a wide range of locations. As I mentioned earlier, it's crucial to understand how life unfolds there whenever we go to a different location. We've seen many people come to Guadalajara and make serious mistakes because they apply living styles that work elsewhere but fail here. The same caution applies when we work outside our usual areas. It's essential to grasp the local ways of life thoroughly. Significant thought has been put into understanding how life operates in these places. This involves a lot of travel and getting to know the local people through many conversations. We find that speaking with the locals, whether they are workers, food providers, or restaurant staff, offers valuable insights. Being open to these discussions helps us understand how people think, live, and do their daily activities in different locations.

JO: Additionally, other factors shaping how we work include recognising the importance of local techniques, which have been shaped by the same geographical and cultural aspects. These techniques have been passed down from one generation to the next, so we are keen to contribute to preserving these invaluable traditions. We have been fortunate enough to build teams that include masons, craftsmen, blacksmiths, and woodworkers. By doing so, we aim to create architecture that reflects our interests and honours the rich cultural heritage of the communities we work with.

Innovation in intimate space

JD: There are two activities that we particularly enjoy and would like to focus on. The first is reflecting on our work, which we do through writing, and the second is through research. We explore certain aspects of life by first conducting research and then figuring out how to incorporate these findings into our current practice. 

GL: We have been recently working on a unique project called the “bathroom of the future”. A company invited us to design a bathroom for their social media. However, we approached it differently and used the opportunity as a research project to develop and explore our recent interests. This has turned into a detailed examination of the bathroom, covering etymological aspects, historical developments, and the challenges posed by future needs. We began by asking fundamental questions such as: “What is a bathroom?”, “How has its function evolved over time?” “What challenges will the future bring?”... Our approach integrates the aspects we've discussed: curiosity, thorough research, and regeneration. We envision the project as a large-scale bathroom, transforming into a public space that facilitates social interaction and reflects our need as architects and city dwellers to understand water use and conservation. We aim to transform this project's context, especially in urban areas, believing that a project like this can help reactivate and regenerate its surroundings. The research-based approach opened-up new questions, such as, "What is the bathroom of the future?". However, we felt that to envision the future truly, we needed to delve deeper and understand these non-solicited projects. This approach led us to explore fundamental questions about what a bathroom can represent in the future. 

JD: We were resistant to designing as we usually do. Instead, we decided to collaborate with artificial intelligence to explore its capabilities. We researched what the bathroom has philosophically and poetically meant for humankind. Additionally, a historical component examined how the bathroom has evolved from a very public to a very private space. This evolution is tied to diseases, religious practices, and other historical events. There was a point when we began to use tools like Mid-Journey and ChatGPT to gather information. We collected various insights and noted certain words that have consistently appeared throughout history. We began synthesising those words and then considered what we could do next. We decided to input them into an AI to harness all the data available on the internet and see how it interprets these words. This approach provided some intriguing interpretations. Because we didn't want to jump directly into traditional designing, as we usually do, we reached a point where we faced two choices: design everything through AI or revert to a traditional design approach for a bathroom. We opted to do both and are attempting to merge these methods. It's been quite a fascinating journey.

Our goal was to create an architectural object whose physical and narrative characteristics immerse people in a profound experience with water and bathing, connecting them with the symbolism of the vital relationship with this essential element and activity. A public space capable of integrating into urban dynamics, conducive to social interaction and promoting strategies for a responsible relationship with water's life cycle.

Building memories through narratives

RC: One of the most important ideas behind what we do is curiosity. About this, one of the activities we engage in is a narrative perspective that we always adopt after completing a project. Every time we finish a project, we like to revisit the ideas that originally shaped it and delve into its significance. We examine the dynamics of the people we collaborated with, the specifics of the site, and the materials we used to create the architecture. This helps us better understand the ideas that go beyond architecture and continue to inspire us as human beings. These ideas touch us on a deeper level, beyond just the aesthetic values of architecture. Essentially, it's like the stories we tell ourselves about our work, and these stories often involve various actors, such as the clients we work with, our team, the site, and the materials we use. We document these ideas through writing and have a substantial body of writing dedicated to each project, exploring these concepts. It's similar to creating a photographic record, but we do it through storytelling instead of a series of photographs. The process usually begins with a conversation with Javier and the people involved to understand what makes that project unique beyond just being architecture. Then, we almost always visit the site or look at available photographs. From there, we start sketching out what's important about it and what really needs to be conveyed about that project that can't be seen in any other way. You can look at a photograph of a beautiful space, but you'll never truly understand it unless you tell its story. The result is usually a text of about 1,000 words that delves into this exploration. But we've also aimed to give it a tone that's not overly academic. It's more like a text that anyone can understand. I believe one of the major mistakes architects make is trying to make it an elitist profession when in reality, it shouldn't be elitist because we're building for everyone. So, whatever we provide to explain our work should be accessible to anyone.

JD: It all began as a way to preserve memories for ourselves. When you work on a project for two, three, or four years, you invest your life in it. Then, one day, it's no longer yours, and all you have left is the memory. So we started documenting these projects with photographs or videos to keep something from that period of our lives as a collection of experiences. Then, the photographs started being used for other purposes, as you know. We also began writing about them to revisit those houses and projects and recall what we were thinking and feeling, along with the client and the place. Initially, it was just a way to keep track of our lives, but it evolved from there. Sometimes, we put it into publications or posts, but mainly, it's an internal process of thinking, brainstorming, reflecting on what we're doing, and summarising it all.