Reza Mohtashami in an Iranian architect, he was born in 1989 in Mashhad, Iran. He studied architecture at the University of Science and Technology in Tehran. In 2018 he founded his own firm: Reza Mohtashami Studio. Despite his young age he has been practicing architecture for 13 years. Mohtashami is most influenced by the work of Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas.

I can’t remember encountering an architect who loves black quite as much. “Black is very vague. Black means power and has a high character and prestige. It is very mysterious.” Reza Mohtashami


Black and White Villa
Jordan




Black Brick
Tehran, Iran




Black Villa
Harriman State Park, New York




Concrete House in Mountain




House of Cubes




Minimalism in a Swiss Lake




Modern Villa in Sweden




Precedence House in upstate New York




Sky Point
Bedford Hills, New York




Villa in London

Sanjay Puri is the principal at Sanjay Puri Architects. Puri studied architecture at the Academy of Architecture in Mumbai. Subsequently, he worked with Hafeez Contractor until he founded Sanjay Puri Architects in 1992. The very sought out firm is now comprised of close to 100 architects and designers.

“Evolving a dialogue of spaces that transcend the ordinary in the way they are perceived while resolving the functional aspects in a more conducive way than ways explored earlier and simultaneously forming volumes sculpturally is innovation within the architectural sense.” Sanjay Puri


Sanskriti
2011, Jaipur, India




The Crescent
2015, Surat, India




The Street
2017, Mathura, India




Sheltered Spaces
2020, Nagpur, India




Stellar Building
2020, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India




Mirai the House of Arches
2022, Bhilwara, India




Prestige University
2022, Mumbai, India




Shree Town
2022, Raipur, India




Studios 90 Residential Building
2022, Kodla, India




Ayurveda Wellness 62
2023, Hyderabad, India




Biophilic Worspace
2023, Mumbai, India

Our tour of Ricardo Legorreta comes to a close with this post. The colourful and sculptural buildings that he created – rooted in a respect of his heritage but also of their time create a vast legacy.

We first explored the work of Ricardo Legorreta in Mexico City, then in other cities of Mexico, and in the United States of America, today we explore his work in Central America and in other countries.


Metropolitan Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception
1993, Managua, Nicaragua




Mexico pavilion, Expo 2000
2000, Hannover




Fashion and Textile Museum
2003, London, United Kingdom




Multiplaza Panamericana
2004, Salvador, El Salvador




Centro Commerical Multiplaza Panamericana
Antiguo Cuscatlan, El Salvador




Hotel Sheraton Bilbao
2005, Bilbao, Spain




New campus of the Escuela Superior de Economia y Negocios
2005, Santa Tecla, El Salvador




Texas A&M University at Qatar
2008, Doha, Qatar




Campus Centre and Student Residential Village, the American University in Cairo
2008, Cairo, Egypt




Carnegie Mellon University
2008, Doha, Qatar




Casa Del Agua Hotel
2009, Jeju-do, South Korea




Casa Margarita
2009 Guatemala City




Davidka Square
2010, Jerusalem, Israel




Terra Esperanza
2014, Guatemala City

After looking at Ricardo Legorreta’s work in Mexico City and then in other cities in Mexico today we look at his work in the United States. I really do love his style – large colourful sculptures. There’s a bit Brutalism there isnt there!


Casa Montalban
1985, Los Angeles, California




Solana Complex
1985, Southlake, Texas




Tustin Market Place
1988, Tustin, California




Children’s Discovery Museum
1990, San Jose, California




Pershing Square Restoration
1994, Los Angeles, California




San Antonia Public Library
1995, San Antonio, Texas




South Chula Vista Branch Library
1995, San Diego, California




Noveartis Institutes for Bio-Medical Research Building
1998, Emeryville, California




The Tech Museum of Innovation
1998, San Jose, California




Santa Fe Univerity of Art Design Visual Arts Centre
1999, Santa Fe, California




Max Palevsky Residential Commons
2001, Chicago, Illinois




Latino Cultural Center
2003, Dallas, Texas




Bakar Fitness Recreation Center
2005, San Francisco, California




Cross Border Xpress Terminal and Bridge
2015, San Diego, California

Last week we visited with Ricardo Legorreta in Mexico City, today we explore his work in other cities of Mexico. Legorreta was aware of his heritage and reinterpreted this heritage in contemporary architecture. The vibrant colours typical of the arts are everywhere to be seen. On another level of awareness he was always conscious of what his client desired and needed.


Chrysler Factory
1967, Toluca




Nissan Cuermavaca Plant
1967




IBM Guadalajara Technology Campus
1970, Guadalajara




Hotel Camino Real
1975, Cancun




Hotel Camino Real
1981, Ixtapa




Renault Factory en Gomez Palacio
1985, Durango




Museo de Arte Contemporaneo de Monterrey
1991, Monterrey




EGADE Escuala de Graduadoes en Administracion y Direccion de Empresas del ITESM in Monterrey
2001, Monterrey




Hotel Camino Real
2007, Monterrey




EGAP Escuela de Graduados en Administracion Publica y Policia Publica del ITESM in Monterrey
2007, Monterrey




Hotel Casa Reyna
2007, Puebla City




Hotel la Purificadora
2007, Puebla City




Museo Interactivo Laberinto de las Ciencias y las Artes
2008, San Luis Potosi




The Tides, Playa del Carmen
2008, Riviera Maya




Centro Medico Zambrano Hellion of the ITESM in Monterrey
2011, Monterrey

Today we fast forward 200 years, leaving James Wyatt and England behind, we cross the pond to find ourselves in Mexico set to explore Ricardo Legorreta.

Ricardo Legorreta Vilchis was a prolific Mexican architect (1931-2011). Born in Mexico, he completed his architecture studies at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México in 1953. In 1963 he opened his own firm. Legorretta was a disciple of Luis Barragán. In many ways we can see Barragán’s style – but we can also see it evolve, develop, broaden. Today we look at his buidings in Mexico City.


Laboratorios Smith Kline French
1964




Casa Lomas Atlas
1967




Camino Real Hotel
1968, Colonia Anzures




Offices of Celanes Mexicana
1968, San Angel




Seguros America Offices
1976, San Angel




Papalote Museo des Nico
1993, Bosque de Chapultepec




Technologico de Monterrey Campus
2001, Santa Fe




Division de Estudios de Posgrado Y Especializaciones en Economia
2010




Torre BBVA
2010 Bancomer

We started our exploration of James Wyatt a couple of weeks ago. Last week we looked at his buildings at Oxford. This week we explore the Churches either designed by or restored by Wyatt.

Wyatt became so popular that he had too many commissions – more than he could handle. Plus of course his official duties kept him busy. This became a problem for he would appear enthusiastic when first meeting a new client, but his interest would wane partly due to time constraints, partly due to the attraction to a new project.


St James Church
1786, Milton




St-George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle
1790, Windsor




Milton Abbey
1791, Dorset




Salisbury Cathedral
1793




St Peters Chruch
1794, Manchester




Lichfield Cathedral
1795




Durham Cathedral
1796




Hereford Cathedral
1797




Weeford Church
1803, Staffordshire




Westminister Abbey
1803, London




Henry VII, Lady Chapel
1813, Westminster Abbey




Hanworth Church
1865, Middlesex




St Kea Church Tower
1895, Cornwall