R. Legorreta ….”with pre Columbian architecture we have to meditate on simplicity…….based on simple masses.”
While traveling the country side and “looking at” the villages of Mexico he had an encounter with a farmer which lead him to understand that many people were economically poor but spiritually rich. Legoretto determined that he would design architecture that truly serves the people.

Do you think his exuberance for “viva la Mexico” is apparent in his work?
Legorreta’s work is extremely interesting in the way he roots his architecture in the fundamental culture of his country. It is interesting that he is inspired by precolumbian architecture, a typology based on simple forms, rather than be inspired by a more present version of Mexican culture. Greatly affected by the Spanish, the Mexicans lost a lot of their indigenous culture, becoming a strongly Catholic nation. The Mexican people did, however, invent their own way of mixing the European with traditional culture, and the Spanish that moved there, mostly clergy, more often adopted traditional techniques unlike what happened in the present-day United States. Some results of this are how Churrigueresco style architecture in Spain became barroco novohispano in Latin America, and the creation of religious folk art.

It’s interesting, then, that Legorreta would choose to reject the Spanish or even mestizo styles popular at the time, while favoring a combination of extremely ancient ideas with modernism.  The result is undeniably beautiful, but it is historically interesting to think about why he would choose to ignore visual styles at the heart of present-day Mexican folk culture in favor of ideas from hundreds of years ago.  It is interesting social commentary, and criticism of colonialism throughout Latin America is not uncommon.

Which project (any in the book) seems to convey Legorreta’s sense of mystery to you?

The Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose is a project that seems to have so many small changes in plane and space, which seems to provide interesting places to discover at a personal, human scale.  The playful use of columns and sporadic light wells creates an inhabitable sculpture of wonder.  Changes in texture and light reflection create spaces which are constantly reacting to light, adding a living component to the building.

Copyright Legorreta + Legorreta

Rick Joy’s architecture feels pure and simple, which makes it powerful.  The raw quality of materials gives character to the structures and gives them a sense of timelessness and belonging to the landscape and region.  The essence of his work reminds me of a small Las Vegas firm named assemblageSTUDIO.  (http://www.assemblagestudio.com/) One of the partners, Drew Gregory, was my second-year studio instructor who incouraged us to work with the regional palette of materials and develop an appreciation for the beauty of the dessert, but these principles can be applied to other regions as well.  

Here is the project we worked on in the studio.  It’s an experiential visitor center for the senses at Red Rock Canyon.  If you are ever in Southern Nevada be sure to check out the raw natural beauty of this National Park.

I would categorize Brian MacKay’s Messenger House II as an extremely minimal “dwelling”, an “essay” as the author puts it of architecture’s most simplistic manifestations.  It seems that anyone even without architectural training in plan view could read the simlistic organization of space, structure, served vs. service spaces, however this concept is less apparent in elevation.  Besides orientation, looking at the pictures, the openings don’t seem to follow a rigid set of principles as the plan does, which I would argue is quite a challange in contemporary architecture as elevations often get reduced into pattern making.  This was also discussed in our studio section as we moved into elevation and enclosure design and how the building concepts can be manifested in elevation.

An interesting blog I came across related to Fredrika’s presentation.

http://blog.miragestudio7.com/blind-architect-braille-blueprints/3512/

(Paragraph opposite figure 14) RJ, “Bold, modern architecture……developed in combination with the basics of proper solar orientation and site protection,and the responsible use of sensible materials and fine craftsmanship, will have the quality to withstand the tests of time. …….increase the longevity of buildings and decrease the consumption of resources by simply doing a good job with the basics first.” Do you think the experiential characteristic of his projects is in anyway compromised by his fundamental basics?

His projects remind me most of discovering cavernous areas of the Atacama desert, climbing earthen-rock formed vertical caves, and the coolth created inside these areas within an extremely hot, arid climate. It is interesting that the experiential quality of his works do not remind me firstly of other architecture, but instead of nature. His modern boxes have translated into something ageless, and I can see these buildings translating into the type of timeless regionalism still evident through the work of an architect such as Alvar Aalto. His fundamental basics seem to comprise the experiential characteristic of his projects, and to me do not seem in opposition.

“We are continually striving to create architecture that is regionally sympathetic and well grounded in the context and community of its place.” Do you think his use of materials and building form are convincing?

Rammed earth architecture and the contextuality of Rick Joy’s desert buildings are certainly admirable.
I can see a connection in time from native adobe buildings and now with crisp edges and clean metal and glass fixtures. This juxtaposition is incredibly subtle given the material differences, and works fantastically.

The “silence” he and Steven Holl discuss is from the experience of being inside an extension of the natural environment, emphasized through the extensive use of these humble materials. From images of his interior spaces, I see similarities with other successful desert works I’ve visited, including the Earthships in Taos, New Mexico, and Donald Judd’s Marfa, Texas compound of old army barracks at the Chinati Foundationa and his Mansana (The Block). These adaptive reuse and fully sustainable projects are most respectful of the natural environment.

Brian MacKay-Lyon work in Nova Scotia represent how grand gestures in architecture don’t always have to rely on complex forms that test the limits of structure. Instead, in his work the gestures come from the careful attention to detail and the reinterpretation of traditional building forms. By using time tested building techniques that derive from the Nova Scotia such as the use of barn doors to create micro-climates and simple barn like forms he is able to reinterpret these methods to add a sense of nostalgia that is sustainable while giving a sense of place throughout the structures simple design. Through his studies of the vernacular precedents he is able to incorporate time tested methods from traditional Nova Scotia building techniques into modern forms in residential design. It is interesting to see modern designs such as the Howard house can be accomplished at such a low cost. Coming from Las Vegas I have always questioned why modern housing designs are never considered into as they plan large master communities. The same stucco, pitched roof design is repeated throughout the entire landscape of the Las Vegas Valley. I figure that the reason for this was cost efficiency.  As Howard House demonstrates modern design can be cost efficient. There must be building forms that work well in the desert landscape that modern designers can incorporate into the large master planned communities in order to create variety in residential design in the area. Is there maybe something else holding back these type of designs?