Ricardo Legorreta

How would you define his architectural accomplishments for the two projects Solana and Camino Real Hotel, Ixtapa related to culture and climate?

Legorreta’s work has an innate quality that the majority of architecture lacks in the world right now: it has the ability of seemingly blending with its environment without necessarily losing its importance. Many architects choose to do grandiose architecture that has nothing to do with its surroundings and fail. Many other architects choose to do architecture so bland that its surrounding overpower it. Legorreta’s architecture achieves a high level of coherence with its site as well as being unique.

I think that El Camino Real Hotel in Ixtapa, Mexio is a great example of what Legorreta’s architecture is. It blends beautify with the hillside where it is located and takes full advantage of the slope to create a stunning terraced building that opens to the sea. Moreover, it stands its ground without falling short in comparison with the landscape. It almost looks like a rock cliff that stands next to the ocean. His understanding of climates allows Legorreta to play with outdoor and indoor spaces in each of the rooms, creating a stunning interpolation of atmospheres. Culture-wise, it is clear how Legorreta uses color and the heaviness of the material to create architecture that seems vernacular, but modern at the same time.

The Solana Project seems to me to fall short in comparison to the previous discussed project. Although it seems that the complex is located in a more urban area, I feel that it does not relate as well to its surroundings. In this case, the colors and material choices pull the building away from its context and make it stand out by itself as a unique mass. It is interesting to note though that Legorreta’s intention was to tie the site with its Spanish heritage. If this was the case, I feel that he managed to accomplish the job. Nevertheless, I do not think that a “Spanish-Mexican” architecture piece fits in this particular site.