The Design Diaries
— Alberto Kalach

Words Vidula KotianDate 03 August 2022

One of the most prolific and versatile architects in Mexico today, Alberto Kalach has never shied away from sharing his opinions, especially on the lack of urban planning in his native Mexico City, and dreaming of largescale utopian civic planning projects that give equal credence to people and nature. Kalach’s precise craft-like approach to architecture in combination with his deep understanding of indigenous flora has lead to his firm Taller de Arquitectura X carving out a rich portfolio of expressive masonry in his country and abroad.

One of his latest projects, the 100%-solar-powered Hotel Terrestre for Grupo Habita, brings together everything that makes his architecture so special: cool concrete and brick rooms, green oases, amazing inner courtyards, open structures, and the greatest possible perspective and overview.

It’s no wonder that the project has been nominated for the AHEAD awards in the Newbuild and Spa & Wellness categories in the Americas this year. We had a brief chat with this laconic pragmatist, who prefers to communicate through his works.

How did you end up working with Grupo Habita and what was it like?

I’ve known them for a while, and we’ve been trying to do something together. Finally, we succeeded. Carlos and Moisés are very intelligent and open to new ideas. Each hotel is different because they are sensitive to the place and conditions it is set in. For example, with Terrestre, the project is disconnected from the grid. It is a structure that generates its own energy, consumes its own water, and recycles the water. There is no air conditioning and there is a nice breeze in all the lovely spaces. It is quite remarkable that a high-end hotel believes in these things.

You work very closely with plants in your projects. Do you have to learn about the plants in each topography?

We try to work with the plants that belong to a place and that’s relatively easy. You go to a place and get acquainted with the vegetation there. Nevertheless, we sometimes introduce some other “guests” to enhance the landscape. You have to get to know the names of the plants and the way they grow. It is a very important part of architecture. Since the beginning of architecture and even before, we were cultivating plants. Agriculture came hand in hand with the first settlements in history.

Do you work with local experts?

My daughter is a landscape designer and botanist. We have an eye and a lot of books. We do research. It’s basically an exercise of observation.

You said, “Mexico is living a good moment in architecture. It seems that some lessons are being learned from early failures.” How are those failures are being improved upon?

The new generations are more conscious about spending less resources, and that way of thinking will continue. Everybody learns from their mistakes. An architect is a craftsperson and like any other craft, you learn by doing it. Even in the realm of science, the way of working is by trial and error and trying a different path. Architecture is pretty similar to those processes of thinking and doing.

For instance, you can’t have glass facades close to the ocean. Whoever wears glasses on the beach will realize that shortly after the glasses are completely covered in mist and salt. You can’t stop the wind. You have to work with the moisture and the wind and not against it. There are many ways of dealing with context. In a northern place, it would a completely different situation because of the weather. Here, we have extreme hot weather but it is still breezy.

What have you learned from your failures?

Well, the list is very long. I try to forget my failures. I don’t recall anything specific, but something has changed in the way we do things. I’m trying to do more easy and simple things, which I think is positive because we waste less time and energy. We consume less materials. We destroy the landscape around us less.

You’ve done a number of projects in Oaxaca…what do you find special about this region?

Oaxaca is not so impacted by construction, so you have a lot of natural landscapes by the Pacific Ocean with the mountains behind, which is very beautiful. It is relatively easy to build there. There are good craftspeople and workers. At this point, we are doing projects there, but we might do some other projects somewhere else. For instance, right now I’m in Venice accidently but here I am drinking a Campari…

How are you accidently in Venice?

A friend of mine called me a month ago and said he is giving a course in the School of Architecture and asked me to join. And I said, fine.

Is there a project/product you’re particularly proud of? Why?

I try to do the best that I can, but I don’t have a particular attachment to any past projects. We have our head in the future projects and that keeps us busy enough.

Who are your sustainability heroes?

I do not have heroes, but the Vietnamese architect Voh Trong is doing amazing work with bamboo.

What have you changed in your life in the past year to be more sustainable?

I need few things: books, food, mezcal, and wine.