Background
LEGORRETA, Ricardo was born on May 7, 1931 in. Mexico, D.F. Son of Luis Legorreta and Guadalupe Vilchis.
architect university professor
LEGORRETA, Ricardo was born on May 7, 1931 in. Mexico, D.F. Son of Luis Legorreta and Guadalupe Vilchis.
He studied architecture at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, from where he graduated in 1953.
He was a prolific designer of private houses, public buildings and master plans in Mexico, the United States and some other countries. He was awarded the prestigious UIA Gold Medal in 1999, the American Institute of Architects Gold Medal in 2000, and the Praemium Imperiale in 2011. After working for five years with José Villagrán García, he established his own office in 1963.
Legorreta was a disciple of Luis Barragán and carried Barragan"s ideas to a wider realm.
Barragan, in the 1940s and 1950s amalgamated tradition and the modern movement in architecture yet his work is mostly limited to domestic architecture. Legorreta applied elements of Barragan"s architecture in his work including bright colors, play of light and shadow, and solid Platonic geometric shapes.
One of the important contributions of Legorreta has been the use of these elements in other building types such as hotels, factories as well as in commercial and educational buildings. His most famous works are the Camino Real Hotel in Mexico City, the International Business Machines Corporation Factory in Guadalajara and the Cathedral of Managua.
Board directors Getty Museum, Los Angeles, 1986. Member Jerusalem's International Committee. Board overseers committee Harvard College, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1992.
Fellow: Mexico Society Architects (honorary). Member: American Institute of Architects (honorary New Mexico Design award 1999, Gold medal 2000), Society Environmental Graphic Design, Royal Institute British Architects (honorary), Royal Architecture Institute Canada (honorary), French Academy Architecture (honorary), American Academy Arts and Sciences (honorary), International Academy Architecture (Bulgaria) (honorary), Mexico Academy Arts (honorary).
Married María Luisa Hernández, January 14, 1956. Children: Lucía, Lourdes, Elisa, Luís, Ricardo, Victor.