Interview with Uribe Schwarzkopf and LA Arquitectos
Our office has been formed from our personal experiences. The fact that both partners transitioned from a more traditional background to contemporary education has influenced us and nurtured our…
Design Legend Interview
26 April 2017
My firm has two principals with two very different backgrounds.
I am from the Upper Peninsula in Michigan. I grew up in Upper Michigan and went to the University of Michigan for my undergraduate studies in Architecture. I have worked in Seattle and Detroit before moving to Los Angeles for my Masters at SCIARC. My partner Gabriela Anker was raised and born in Quito Ecuador. She did her undergrad studies at the University of Virginia, and then move to New York for a couple of years before her entering her masters studies. She also did her masters at SCIARC where we met. We have two very different backgrounds and travel experiences that enriched our practice. We solve our design projects from different perspectives but merge them to make for a more rich result. We love to add personality to our designs and by being different we are able to provide that.
I am from the Upper Peninsula in Michigan. I grew up in Upper Michigan and went to the University of Michigan for my undergraduate studies in Architecture. I have worked in Seattle and Detroit before moving to Los Angeles for my Masters at SCIARC. My partner Gabriela Anker was raised and born in Quito Ecuador. She did her undergrad studies at the University of Virginia, and then move to New York for a couple of years before her entering her masters studies. She also did her masters at SCIARC where we met. We have two very different backgrounds and travel experiences that enriched our practice. We solve our design projects from different perspectives but merge them to make for a more rich result. We love to add personality to our designs and by being different we are able to provide that.
As a designer we are able to reach into the natural needs and interests of human beings. For me it is fascinating to bring this kind of services and influence the way a person sees its surroundings and start respecting and caring for it.
I decided to become a designer since I can remember. I always have liked buildings, creating things with my hands and mind. For me it was mind blowing to think that the elements and spaces within my mind could be represented and materialized. Even more mesmerizing was to think that some else can be part of this idea and eventually occupy, enjoy and share it
Anything that is unconventional that demands creative solutions. My practice is particularly in Architecture. But for me our design is everywhere so I am always open to interesting projects
Work hard, do not give up and give it a chance. If you fail learn from it and get up. If you succeed take it with a grain of salt and keep moving.
Try new things never be satisfied. Having motivation. Always keep learning and experimenting. Also, having a little luck to be able to show and prove how good you can be.
Great design has heart, and lives of its self. Good design keeps growing and reproducing, as well as being adaptive and changing. When a design is able to become iconic and essential for living you have created a good organism. If it creates an impact and improves the way you live then you have created really good design.
The value of good design is the appreciation for creative and alternative solutions for unknown outcomes.
I would design essential living tools for people that do not have the opportunity to hire an architect.
Our house.
My recipe is dedication and iteration. Do it over and over again until you get it right, and it evolves into what it needs to be.
John Lautner, because he was a forward thinking architect, under appreciated for his time. He created harmonious relationships between his clients, the surroundings and nature. The relationships between these elements were flawless and in sync.
The creation of humans (our kids). For me they are the perfect organisms that are perfectly design to its smallest part.
Keep your eyes open, pay attentions to your surroundings and its behaviors. Just remember to look up and enjoy each day.
Inventor, Architects are limited to physical objects and inventors have no limitations.
Design is anything or everything.
Everyone in my life had an influence on my career. I think that learning to appreciate your surrounding have been my biggest support.
Hagy Belzberg. He gave me the opportunity to reach inside and create what I think is beautiful.
Finding the right opportunities and being able to physically communicate them.
They should try to communicate their work in the most clear and attractive way. Show its purpose and contextualize its presence.
Our next project is a private residence in the outskirts of the city. It is a continuation of our exploration of the non-conventional playfulness between materials and spaces.
To make an ever lasting positive contribution in the field of architecture
The commitment to never be satisfied.
It maintains a sense of progress and beauty.
A non-conventional house that uses natural materials to create movement. That reflects its surroundings and incorporates its beauty form the outside to the inside.
The Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust were I was the project manager and project designer under the supervision of Hagy Belzberg. This project had an important story that needs to be told and communicated from events that could never be forgotten. There-for this piece of architecture had a purpose and become a tool for education and knowledge.
More opportunities for young designers that have the energy and ideas to change the world.
I believe that design will get back to the days of more intrinsic detail (e.g. baroque style) It is headed in that direction with the help in the articulation process by technology like robots, cnc milling and more. Architecture was partially simplified because of labor cost. Now with the help of technology this can change.
1 day or 5 years you never know what a project might represent.
I start form a 3 dimensional blank canvas. Then I start my sculptural process of extraction and addition with the analysis of different forces. These forces can be come from varying factors.
The playful approach to design and a problem solver.
Depends on the opportunity, scale and clients. We will like to think we are trend setters but not always.
Technology aids in the efficiency of the iterative process. It is another tool that needs to be learned and used properly to create better things
Anything available, no preference.
For me they are additional tools that aid and inform designers to make better decisions
What was the most challenging part of the design?
Progress.
Someone with a different background than me. Collaboration produces the best results.
Fellow SCIARC alumni.
Journals, blogs and media have had the strongest impact on our design.
Years of practice.
John Lautner.
Being recognized for your hard work is justified.
Green, Michigan, pasty, fall, tree, none
Always finding potential in new design opportunities.
It was obvious I would be an architect, anything else is a bonus.
A harmonious collaboration between humans and planets.
Great design can come from anywhere and anyone, including you.
Designer Interview
26 April 2017
My background starts with my personal connection to nature by growing up in the woods. Nature inspired me to be a designer from early age.
In our design studio we try to bring international and diverse backgrounds that help us produce diverse projects.
Design is everything and everywhere.
Projects with less constraints.
A tree. Because they have so many qualities that are impressive. A tree is aesthetically pleasing, has a strong sense of materiality, and is complex and it has a function.
A fence in urban Detroit.
I have many favorite materials, platforms and technologies. They all go in cycles and they depend on the projects.
Late at night.
The sculptural aspect and the playfulness during the early stages of design.
Intuition.
More than emotion, an accomplishment that I have learned something and also sense of relief.
Simplicity.
Aesthetics.
A designer has a responsibility to create a product that is efficient and aesthetically pleasing.
Contemporary. Be connected to what is happening now and what will happen in the future.
I have lived in Northern Michigan, Los Angeles, Detroit, Seattle, Italy, Dubai and Ecuador. All of these places have had an major impact on my design process.
100% Collaboration.
Be open to and respect the process.
I start with a 3D cube based on the site of the project. This is a cube that gets modified, sculpted and perfected with the understanding of different constraints. Needs and energies continually shape the object.
Everything that has a sentimental meaning, history.
Every day is different depending on what needs to be done. But it always starts with a good cup of coffee. Site visits, clients calls, research, emails... etc.
Do not give up. Work hard.
The positive is to be part of making the community better and creating inspirations that can amazed in others. The negative is to fight to break the rules.
To be open.
Curiosity. Never stop being curious.
I reach into my past education and continuing education. I use anything and everything available to me, there is no one thing i use more than the other.
Designing small or big things is equally demanding. Therefore I try to see the big picture first to use my working hours accordingly and efficiently.
I never know, usually depends on client deadlines.
What I think about someone else's work.
The Holocaust Museum in Los Angeles, California.
Developers, private citizens and government.
Design without constraints, because the process is not limited.
We are working on a private residence on the outskirts of Quito. Always looking for the next project to see where it will take us.
It depends on the project. I typically work in the design phase with my partner Gabriela Anker and then we open it up to the rest of our team.
We have in the works a 24 story residential tower named “ONE”, also, a private residence known as Selva Alegre, among others.
You can contact me via phone at +593 98448 4987 or via email at aaron@laarquitectos.com