In the interview p. 20 two factors became apparent.

R. Legoretta  ….”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?

I think it is very apparent in his work especially as he explains his approach to design as a devotion to architecture that truly serves  people and makes them happy. It is really apartment in the example of the IBM factory  where he gives as much importance to the assembly lines work space as he does with the office spaces.  Placing the offices on the same level as the assembly lines really gives one the sence that he is trying to capture in the  essence of building for the people creating an equal working environment that doesn’t display any hierarchy between the two different groups of the white collar and blue collar workers at the IBM factory.

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

The MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART MARCO in my opinion seems to convey the sense of mystery that Legorreto wants to capture. There are elements in many parts of the building that make you question the reason for their placement or even how these elements are accomplished such as in the yellow column that intrudes its way through the plane of the ceiling to stop right before reaching the plane of the pedestal. The Column then is hollowed out and given an accent of light that expresses to me a mystery to where the light is coming from.

Rick Joy, “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?  Use specific examples.

 I think his use of materials in order to be well grounded into its context is very convincing especially after visiting desert landscapes near Las Vegas such as the Valley of Fire  similar to Rick joys region of Tucson. As Juhani Pallamaa describes in the introduction there is really something about the vast emptiness of the desert that provides an emotion of isolation very similar to the feeling that over takes our senses when we approach great architectural spaces. Rick joy captures these experiential qualities very well such as his use of frosted glass  in the Hoffman Residence.

 I haven’t visited the building but, from the picture the use of the glass can be seen giving the sense of vastness that gives one the impression that the landscape goes on forever due to the semi opaque nature of the glass and its ability to project the contours of the landscape on the outside. I really see parallels to this image with the experience of being in the desert landscape during a morning sunrise in which the landscape is slowly revealed to you in layers of the contours of the desert landscapes valleys, ridges and vegetation.

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In the readings I found it very useful for formulating concepts from the site and how simple ideas can also become very complex. Nakijin Community center has simple rigid structure that is almost overtaken by the plants that grow on its roof. The plan reveals just how structured building becomes underneath its roof at the same time maintaining a complex program that is related to their ideas to space. Though the structural grid is strict because of their treatment of how they consider the balance between open, enclosed, and semi-enclosed space they are able to create spatial qualities that vary throughout the entire structure. The same concept of the balance between open and enclosed space follows throughout their other projects and fits very well with Nago City Hall as it provides a strong relation to their ideas of Governmental Buildings. These buildings exist because of the people and it is an important function that the public has domain within its structure the way that Nago City Hall incorporates the open spaces in the form of Asagi Terrace. In my opinion, these spaces within the building provide the citizens with the sense of transparency with the  government which is one is very revealing to what architecture can do politically.

“…the suggestion seems to be that within this freedom to complete the “design,” the viewer is actually free to invent and add a personal interpretation of the structure’s missing parts, searching experimentally for the conclusive envelope of an edifice.”

I really appreciate the way that McKay-Lyons engages the user in his buildings.  The inhabitants of a building actually complete the design through the act of dwelling.   The Ghost series showcases beautifully lonely work, but with the addition of people these structures become resurrected.