LEGORRETA®
Victor Legorreta
Founded in 1965 by Ricardo Legorreta, Noé Castro and Carlos Vargas Sr., Legorreta Arquitectos (now LEGORRETA®) has stayed true to its original goal of creating the best architecture inspired by human values, with atmospheres that convey peace, privacy, and optimism. In this interview, Victor Legorreta, one of the current partners, shares with us the firm’s international collaborations including ones in Qatar, LA. He also talks about how nice environment makes us happier, how the old Mexican Haciendas inspires him, and the balance between the physical and spiritual needs of human beings in architectural design.
“You have to be almost like a magician trying to keep the right size of the office during all this crisis...from the design perspective is interesting, but also from the practical perspective of all the businesses I think is good to have a little diversification.”
What was the local economy for real estate and architecture in 1965 when your father started?
The office was, as you say, was founded by my father, was in 1966. So it's almost more than 50 years old. For the first 30 years our main work was in Mexico and then we started to look for some projects outside of Mexico. Mainly, at the beginning, the Southern part of the United States and later we have been working in different parts of the world. I got involved with the office in 1990, so I worked with my father for 25 years or something together and now he passed away 11 years ago. So now we are the new partners and new teams that are keeping the office.
How do you get your projects abroad?
My father began the international adventure. I think it came from a passion that he had for showing Mexico. He was in love with the country, with Mexican architecture. So, he began to give lectures outside of Mexico about what Mexican architecture was about. He taught some courses between the U.S. universities and Mexico. I think my dad began to develop that relationship outside of Mexico. And then the very first project was kind of a curious thing because it was- there was a Mexican actor called Ricardo Montalbán. And so he lived in L.A. and say, “Well, you know, I want to demonstrate that Mexican architecture can be very sophisticated.” So, he has to do the house in L.A. The projects are basically at the beginning. In California Texas and New Mexico they have a strong Mexican heritage. And also the climate is more or less similar.
Labyrinth Museum of Arts and Science - Image by Allen Vallejo (Cortesía del Estado de San Luis Potosí)
What was it like when the firm transitioned to your leadership?
I mean after my father, it has-- well, of course, we were afraid. And to say, okay, what will happen when my father is not with us. But I think what helped a lot is that it was kind of a process. I worked like 25 years with my father. and some of the partners also worked with him. So it was the group that we already were thinking more leadership role in the office and also he was kind of a progress, changed between the two. And it was lucky that a lot of- most of the clients, they keep trusting in us. So the project were on process. We kept them. And we began to get also new clients.
Which existing roadblocks or ways of working did you have to work with?
The life of an architect, they are like ups and downs all the time especially we are living in a country like Mexico. Just when I was beginning in the office, I mean there was a deep crisis in 1994 and I fought. So, I remember now there was a small building and all this building has been down in a secondary city in Mexico. And we were like the five top architectural firms looking after it then we were all calling the client over there to see they were moving ahead because there was nothing. At that time it was very helpful to have work outside of Mexico. So the other thing I think that has helped the office is that we are not specialized in a certain type of construction. For example, right now, after the pandemic, the office market is very low.
All the companies are becoming smaller in physical space. So, if we had the office all focused on offices then we’d be in trouble. But as we get to houses or a hotel, from the design perspective is interesting, but also from the practical perspective of all the businesses I think is good to have a little diversification.
What did you do to ensure the company would keep thriving?
You only, on the other hand, you don’t want to grow too much because, at least, in our perspective we like the office in a certain size that we can control the projects and look at them and be personally involved with the projects. But on the other hand, you don’t want to say no to a client because then, you know, the other one is going to stop, or something is going to happen *chuckles* So it's You have to be almost like a magician trying to keep the right size of the office during all this crisis.
How do you usually get new commissions today?
So I think in general, I think the clients usually come because of what you do. They saw how we worked. They saw that they the office was active, and also when they talked with the clients. I think that they said, well, do you know this? It was not that relationship only with Ricardo was also with all the team and we're confident that the team can do it. A lot of the clients they saw I was already in contact with them and I was taking the day-to-day relationship with them. So, jobs come more from a good experience then maybe they trust you and be your project, and that's the way that happens Sometimes the project comes from a very strange way *chuckles* For example, when we got the projects in Qatar, the leader of the university was the second wife of, the (former) Emir, Sheikha Moza, and she visited some of the universities in the U.S. because she wanted to bring the universities to Qatar. She saw a couple of our buildings and so, I mean, we received this package that’s saying that they want to hire us for one building. But it was like three packs about this thick and it was almost like a contract for an oil company. So and then it happened that one of the partners was traveling to Europe. So we said, okay, I've got to travel there to see what it's about. And then he came back and say, “you know, it's a very important project.” I mean the Sheikha Moza was very personally involved and they really want us and we got along very well. And after that we ended up doing four buildings for them. So for example, in another case, we are working with the Aga Khan University, Aga Khan Foundation and in that case, my father was a juror for the Aga Khan prize. He developed a relationship and he considered us for a project. They interview several architects. We were chosen and then it was when my father passed away.
“We think it’s healthy not to start drawing from the beginning because I think the spirit of discussion, you have it in your head all the time. And, I mean, we spent maybe it’s about a month or three-four weeks in that kind of a process of understanding the project. ”
You work on very different scales of projects and which design methods have you refined over the years to structure the work in your practice?
What we tried to do is- we receive a new commission, I think, in the beginning, we tried to have some time to think, talk with the client to understand what he wants, to go to the site, no? To walk around the site, to look- sometimes we look at similar examples, let’s say, what they’ve been doing in a similar project in other places in the world or in Mexico. We think it's healthy not to start drawing from the beginning because I think the spirit of discussion, you have it in your head all the time. And, I mean, we spent maybe it's about a month or three-four weeks in that kind of a process of understanding the project. Then we do with sketches. Usually I do the first sketches, but sometimes they come in a meeting and then there’s a group that begins to develop the design. And we still like to do a lot of models.
Besides you, how many people are working with you today? Who are the other main people in your organization today and how did you find them?
In total, we are fifty-five. We are three partners, myself and the other partners have been with us for many years. Miguel Almaraz and he's more in charge of the development of the projects. And then I have another partner, Miguel Alatriste who is more on the administrative side. He looks at the contracts, negotiates the fees, is looking at the projection that we have enough money to pay people, all the taxes. It is all that administration. Before we always saw the administration of an office as a secondary role that we had like part-time people and it was a mistake. I think it has paid a lot. I mean to have a full-time partner looking at that. And then let’s say from those three partners, we have like a group of younger, let’s say, junior partners. So, the one that is actually a niece, it’s Paola Legorreta, she has been working for us [for] some years and there are like three or four juniors, that I have been- several years with us and that they are in charge of projects. We have also an interior design department. The leader of the group there are about seven people, six-seven people. We have Raquel who’s looking at all the public relationships that, let's say, it's becoming more and more work. Because I think it has been a part of how to show the world about what you are doing. the work and our progress. Also for example, I believe there is a competition or possible projects so she can handle that and look at how to convince, talk to new clients and so she prepare a presentation, on how to convince them. Then we have a model department, with three people there. One person is in charge of all the computer systems and also you need someone who is in charge of how you handle the files. While the new programs need to be updated all the time.
With almost half a century of history, has the firm changed the way of working over the years?
The other change we have made is that, after the pandemic- I mean in the pandemic, everybody was working from home. A lot of people live like an hour and a half away from the office. So, now what we're doing is that we broke the office in different teams, and each team comes like one day a week, and I come every day. And we do a kind of a design charrette, one or two times a week and we put like a big screen in their studio and it's helpful because, let’s say, that day people come and we discuss a project and we see that screen and they go to their homes and they work from the distance. And in a way, it has been helpful to give them a little bit more space so they can then develop more the concept that and they organize everything so that day of the week they know that they have to be prepared to review it. The problem with that is that they don't interact between them so that's a challenge. So we tried sometimes to go to the office together. And of course, with communications, they are in contact and they benefit from each other.
What have been the major differences between working with your father and now leading the firm with two partners?
Well, the main change is that when you have an office around this strong personality. So for example, when I have an idea, before I went to my father, and show it to him. Now, I show it to the different architects in the office. So we brought, I don't know, either five or six designer architects that are in the office, we bring them together, and they began to criticize the project. Sometimes it’s criticizing things of design. And sometimes it's even decisions, business decisions. Well, so say, somebody has a new client, then we ask everybody, “What do you think of having this new client?” and or- or this client is not working very well, so what do we do with them?
When you do projects abroad, how do you find local partners and architects to help you make the project happen?
The challenge of working abroad, at the beginning, when we began to work, we open an office in Los Angeles. and we had it for about eight years (after that). And at the end we found that it was better to associate with the local, because I think in a way, even in the U.S., each state is different. It is very different to do something in Miami and in Florida than in California. They know the local codes, they know the local contractors, they know even the people in the city to get permits, etc.. So that helps a lot. There are some in an office, we have a good one in California, where I mentioned earlier we already know each other. But in some cases we have no one. And we like to interview, and interview maybe three or four. The challenge, I think- and I think it is good to be open from the beginning is that they have to understand their role. I mean, we're always open to new ideas, new options but someone has to be the one that makes the decision. So they have to understand that role and say, “well this project I want to support the design architect, I'm going into the best I can and the best the project wants. We both win.” We look, of course, at their history. Well you look at- sometimes we speak with some clients also. It's important also you are looking at what are their strengths so that we complement each other. So, we look at their stuff that the equipment they have, the office they have. And we like to have people that are proud of what we need help from--which is the local knowledge of having a good quality control. So we like to see them as they were part of the office. I think if we don’t see them as important, then they feel it and then that is not a good relation.
Casa Sotogrande - Image Credits Andreas von Eisendel
“We are here to solve other people’s problems. That I learned a lot from my father. He always listens to the client. But on the other hand, I learned a lot about this optimism, this passion.”
Which personal qualities have helped you get to where you are today? How did you develop them?
We are here to solve other people’s problems. That I learned a lot from my father. He always listens to the client. But on the other hand, I learned a lot about this optimism, this passion. So my father was passionate about everything. So, it didn’t matter so much about the scale--if it was a huge project or a small one or if it was--He always tried to look for what he can do different, what he can give something extra.
How do you select people working with you today?
I think you need different types of personalities. So we had, on one hand, for example, we have the architects that have been with us for 15-25 years that they know how to build, that they the construction, they know how to deal with engineers, how to prepare package of drawings. But then on the other hand, you also need fresh ideas and new people. So we like to have that mix. So to have like young people with less experience. and then people with a lot of experience. And so a lot of times in the teams, we mix it. So it's important that you make it a team, you understand these different elements and you try to find people that complement you know. So for example, Miguel Almaraz, for example, has been with us for 30 years. He wants to think things over, no? And I'm like very fast-moving in and I say, “no, let’s take it and let’s go ahead!”
Managua Cathedral - Image by Lourdes Legorreta © Colección Legorreta
“The human being, let’s say, we, as humans, I mean, we have some certain physical needs. You know? But I think also there are some other side of a human being that is emotional, no? even it’s spiritual if you want to call it, and that aspect is also very important. ”
You work on residential, offices, commercial and urban scales, how do you approach each type of project in terms of user experience?
I am convinced that architecture changes the way we live. I think working in a nice environment would certainly make you happier and more productive or being in a nice place, or you are going to a nice hotel, we improve the experience or to a restaurant. The difficult part of that is that does not appear in the numbers, in the Excel sheets. And is not just about efficiency. The human being, let's say, we, as humans, I mean, we have some certain physical needs. You know? But I think also there are some other side of a human being that is emotional, no? even it's spiritual if you want to call it, and that aspect is also very important. And for me, the good architecture is the one that handles both, no?
And I think that's when architecture becomes- architecture becomes art. To give this very many elements like light, and as you said, the use of walls, no? The mystery I think is very nice also to look for a project that you keep discovering that you don’t see from the first time. All that romanticism I think is very important. Things that can not be included in the excel sheet *chuckles* I think those are very important.
Which books, artworks, buildings... have inspired your design?
As an architect, you keep looking at architecture all the time and a lot of times even- some ideas come [in] unexpected spaces. Sometimes it is not that you plan and to say, “okay, I'm going to have an inspiration. I'm going to travel to this place and I want to be inspired tomorrow at 12 o’clock,” no? When it happens, no? I enjoy going to the towns and to the old Haciendas, and the old places in Mexico, that's an inspiration always. Just a space that is well done that has this love [from] the person who did it. You feel it, no? And I think that's a pleasure.
ESEN – Economy and Business Superior School - Image by Lourdes Legorreta (Cortesía ESEN)
