Housing boom fuels architecture

EM: Mexico’s current condition is connected to several factors, mainly demographics. Right now, most Mexicans are in the age range where they are looking to buy a house or start a family, which increases the demand for housing. Along with the less strict regulations compared to Europe or the US, these factors create a fertile ground for emerging architectural practices in Mexico. In contrast, in European countries like Switzerland, for example, most people are older, and there aren't many children being born. Housing demand is low because they already have enough homes. While housing isn't all of architecture, it is a significant part, especially in Mexico. Most Mexicans are between 25 and 45 years old. This is the age when people typically get married and start families, creating a huge demand for housing. This demand drives much of the private architecture sector. Because of the huge demand for housing, this demand has to be met by someone. There are good practices, bad practices, and everything in between, but within this environment, many good practices are emerging. Speaking of public spaces, if there's one thing to applaud about this government, it's their investment in them, including public schools and community centers. However, they often commission these jobs directly instead of going through competition, making it hard to get a foot in the door. We have decided to focus on private clients rather than public or government commissions because we do not have a way in. I'm a bit skeptical about how public projects are assigned to architecture practices. If you’re not connected or part of certain circles, you won’t get these opportunities. Personally, I've always been wary of working with the government because political issues can impact the project in ways that are beyond your control. I admire the people who do it, but I don't have the stomach for it.

From old homes to new heights

EM: The first projects I ever did, Corregidora 14, were part of the construction boom in Mexico City from 2014 to 2018. Many people with land and old houses realised they could build apartment buildings due to the zoning code. For example, many new buildings replaced old houses. I took advantage of this opportunity. People with old houses who were amateur developers reached out to me, or I reached out to them, offering to help develop small apartment buildings. These were usually three to five apartments, four to five stories high. That's how we started. Once we had a portfolio, other clients began to reach out to us. After graduating from college, I worked with Benjamin Romano for about six months. I also spend some time working at HEMAA. Santiago Hernandez Matos, one of the founding partners of HEMAA, always helped me out, giving me work during the summers. I worked with him during my college summers, then with Benjamin Romano. After that, I started working with my father, who´s also an architect but focused on construction. About six years ago, I decided to part ways with my father and start my own firm to focus on designing, not just building. In our office, regardless of the programme and how things are arranged, we always focus on the structural capabilities of the project.

Foundations of our future

EM: We founded the practice in 2017, and my first commission was a house for a friend from college (Cecilia Larrea), also an architect. Their parents had a plot of land in San Jeronimo and wanted to develop it to sell. The zoning allowed only one house, so we became partners for the project and they developed it for sale. It was very exciting because it was a year or two after I graduated from college. You could see in the house all these ambitious ideas, and when you're just out of college, you sometimes feel like you have to pour every single intention into one project..

The biggest milestone in the history of the firm is the building we constructed in Colonia del Valle, at Adolfo Prieto #1113. It's a four-story building with a basement, and it was the first time we fully designed and constructed a project. It was a very enriching experience to design it. At that time, the firm was basically just me and maybe a collaborator, without any facilities. It was really interesting to help the client choose a plot of land, then do the drawings (in collaboration with Cecilia Larrea), and finally handle the entire construction process. I had never been in charge of such a large construction before. Four stories may not be huge, but it is quite substantial. One lesson I learned from that project is that in construction, everything that can go wrong will go wrong. We learned this very early in the process. The biggest challenge was understanding that building in Mexico involves much more than just executing the construction. It requires a lot of energy from the client, architect, constructor, authorities, and everyone involved. To make a project successful, you have to align many interests.

The client has to be convinced of what you're doing, which was the case in that project. We did the drawings in 2017, and then there was a government change in 2018 which delayed construction until January 2020. Three months after we began, the pandemic hit, which was another big challenge. Everything was impacted because we were committed to paying the rent for the office space. It wasn't huge, but it was still a cost we couldn't avoid. Meanwhile, all construction in Mexico City was stopped, at least for the first three months. There was resistance to building due to the new government. Then there wasn't much work. We survived because of that project. The office back then consisted of Carlos, an architect, working with me and myself. We revisited the project multiple times during that period of time. By the end, we had practically memorised the entire building. Executing the construction wasn't difficult, but we had no experience dealing with permits, neighbours, suppliers, and many other details. That was the most challenging aspect of the project. You think your world and your profession are a certain size, but it turns out they are much bigger. You have to deal with much more to ensure things go smoothly.

Client collaboration, design success

EM: Architects aren't really well taught in school to deal with clients. At least in Mexico, or at least at my college, teachers tell you a fairy tale that when you graduate, you will be able to do everything you want. You leave college with all these ideas, then you encounter the reality that clients also have a thing or two to say. They want to be heard and involved. The toughest part of the first years was learning to listen to the client and not be stubborn with my ideas, which are often insecurities at the beginning. When you listen to the client and pay attention to their needs, you end up with a better project. Over the years, we've learned that the relationship with a client is like a rubber band: sometimes it stretches, and sometimes it doesn´t. The goal is to keep it as minimally stretched as possible. For example, during the project for a house, we encountered an issue with the bed's position in the main bedroom, which strained our relationship with the client. At that time, whatever I suggested, they would oppose. If I said white, they would say black. If I said up, they would say down.

However, when the interior designers joined the project, it became easier to communicate our ideas because the designers agreed with our perspective. They insisted that the bed needed to be in a specific position, different from what the client initially wanted. When the client heard this from a third party, they accepted it. Sometimes, you have to navigate these situations strategically and avoid roughing up the relationship with the client. This approach helped us significantly. The interior designers provided a fresh perspective, and it was easy for them to assert that the bed's position was wrong and needed to be changed. The client accepted their recommendation, but if it had come from me, it would have been rejected due to the strained relationship.

Rethinking rigidity in design

EM: The most we've had in the office is five people. It's easy to fall for the cliché of having 30 architects in your office. In reality, you realise you don't need that many people. Maybe you need just two, three, or four people. That's enough. Unless you're doing a lot of work, you don't need such a big team. 

Right now, in the office, we're trying to move away from rigid ideas. Everything used to be very strict, even in the materialisation of the projects. Everything had to be concrete and rigid. Soon, we decided to let go of those pretensions. It doesn't have to be concrete, square, or steel. What about a house that excels through its spatiality and doesn't depend on materiality to be a good place to live? As I said earlier, when you first graduate, you have all these intentions. You want to be like Rem Koolhaas, or Mauricio Rocha. You admire all the big architects in Mexico and abroad. After working on your first three or four projects and pouring all these influences into them, you realise you don't need to follow all those examples. You can take a step back and think differently. For a house with a limited budget and constraints, you might focus more on the spatiality of the project rather than its materiality.

Functional flow in architecture

EM: There is another unique project, Packtag Industrial. I don't think I'll encounter many other projects like that in my career. It involved designing a warehouse that would house a prototype factory. What made this project particularly interesting was that it didn't follow the traditional approach to architecture, where we primarily focus on spaces and materials. The most fascinating aspect was helping the clients design their work processes. The company had grown organically over the past 30 years, resulting in a chaotic and inefficient setup. Their facilities were disorganised, with everything crammed together in a makeshift manner. They managed to get things done, but it wasn't an optimal way to operate. 

When we began working with them, they weren't even fully aware of their own workflow. Our role was to help them identify and understand their workflow and suggest improvements. This process involved a lot of collaboration to design or discover the most efficient workflow for their new facility. It was incredibly rewarding, as it went beyond traditional architectural design and ventured into optimising the client's operational processes.

This experience highlights an aspect of architecture that we don't often explore. Most of the projects we handle tend to follow familiar patterns. For instance, when designing houses, the layouts are usually quite similar, two-storey houses typically have bedrooms upstairs and the living room and kitchen downstairs. Office spaces and buildings, while aesthetically pleasing, are essentially just containers. In an office building, you can expect to find a meeting room, a director's office, an executive office, and a lobby. Similarly, apartments tend to follow a standard design. This project, however, was different because it went beyond these typical patterns. It required us to delve into the client's workflow and operational needs. This kind of project pushes the boundaries of traditional architecture and involves a deeper level of planning and collaboration to create a functional and efficient workspace. It’s a refreshing departure from the usual designs and presents unique challenges and opportunities for innovation.

This experience provided an excellent opportunity to understand the program, which was entirely new to us. They occupy a unique niche in the market by creating prototypes for brands, a specialised skill that only they possess. Working closely with them allowed us to uncover their strengths, identify their weaknesses, and suggest areas for improvement. It was a truly fascinating and insightful experience. Essentially, it's a straightforward construction project, involving a core of basic elements such as a staircase, bathrooms, and similar features. However, the main structure consists of two large boxes, making it relatively simple to build. The most interesting part was discovering, with the client, where to place what, or even realizing there were pieces of the puzzle that were not really necessary.

Post-project reflections

EM: What happens to us, and I believe it happens to many architects, is that it is incredibly time-consuming and exhausting to bring a project to fruition and see it built. The process starts with acquiring the plot of land, followed by designing and creating executive drawings, and then beginning construction. At this stage, everything can become chaotic, and numerous unexpected issues arise. Clients often come up with new ideas and demands, adding to the complexity. By the time the project is completed, you are thoroughly exhausted. For most of us, at least for me, once a project is finished, you feel completely done with it. You need a few months of rest to recover. After some time, when you look back, you can evaluate the project and determine what was successful and what wasn't. 

The exercise we are attempting now goes beyond merely determining if a project was good or bad. We are engaging in an analytical process to identify what went wrong, what went well, what worked in our relationship with the client, where we made mistakes, and what the major game-changers were throughout the process. By writing these observations down, we can reflect on them more effectively. This reflection is crucial because, over the course of a project that takes approximately three years from start to finish, we experience every single step. Documenting these experiences allows us to learn from them and improve future projects. If you have the patience to conduct a thorough review of a completed project, it can be immensely beneficial. By examining what went wrong, identifying budget breaches, and recognising areas where spending could have been adjusted, you gain valuable insights. For example, you might realise that holding client meetings on a Friday night isn't ideal because clients are tired from a long week and may not be in the best frame of mind. Instead, scheduling meetings on a Saturday morning, when clients are rested and have spent time with their families, could result in more productive discussions. Reflecting on these aspects and learning from them can make the design process smoother and less complicated in the future. Documenting these lessons helps ensure that you avoid repeating the same mistakes and can approach new projects with improved strategies.