{"id":746679,"date":"2024-07-23T08:48:37","date_gmt":"2024-07-23T07:48:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/?p=746679"},"modified":"2024-08-12T13:50:09","modified_gmt":"2024-08-12T12:50:09","slug":"sordo-madaleno-on-using-local-materials-and-skills-and-setting-up-in-london","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/specification\/sordo-madaleno-on-using-local-materials-and-skills-and-setting-up-in-london","title":{"rendered":"Sordo Madaleno on using local materials and skills and setting up in London"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u2018Materiality is linked to our architecture because materiality is always linked to a place,\u2019 says Fernando Sordo Madaleno, the 33-year-old director of the London office of his eponymous Mexican practice. \u2018To put this into context, we\u2019re a Mexican firm used to working in a really biodiverse and multicultural country. This has given us lots of tools in terms of richness of techniques, materials and climates, which is embedded in the way we think.\u2019\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

He adds: \u2018In that sense, we\u2019re always looking for local craftsmanship, materials and technologies that we can implement on our projects,\u2019 explaining that the site-specific nature of its designs are incredibly important to the practice. \u2018Having a sensibility to context has always been one of our drivers,\u2019 he says.<\/span><\/p>\n

The architecture firm now known as Sordo Madaleno Architects was founded in 1937 by Juan Sordo Madaleno, one of the most influential Mexican architects of his era. Initially, he was inspired by the Bauhaus movement and Le Corbusier, designing mainly hotels and residential buildings. <\/span><\/p>\n

Since 1982, his son, Javier Sordo Madaleno Bringas has been heading the practice which has now just expanded into the UK, led in turn by his son, Fernando. Despite having a well-established position in Mexico with over 200 members of staff and a development arm called SOMA, its overseas office was set up about eight months ago and has already expanded from five to 28 people to allow the practice to play a larger role internationally.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

So why London? \u2018It is because for us the city has always been the centre and capital for architecture, with a great pool of talent and of consultants\u2019 says Madaleno. \u2018We think many of the most important agendas of the architectural world are being tackled here in London.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

There were also practical benefits such as navigating time zones and being closer geographically to existing clients. The firm has started to win projects across Asia and the Middle East. And the Mexican big-hitter is currently working on a prestigious project to upgrade a stadium in Spain ahead of the 2030 FIFA World Cup. The scheme will see the refurbishment and remodelling of El Molin\u00f3n stadium in Gij\u00f3n, Asturias \u2013 the oldest professional football arena in the country \u2013 to get it match-ready for the tournament in six years\u2019 time.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

Proposal for El Molinon stadium in Gij\u00f3n, Spain<\/p>\n\t

Source:Sordo Madaleno<\/p><\/div>\n

\u2018For us it was really important to be part of that [European] discussion,\u2019 adds Madaleno. \u2018Being here to learn and explore how both cultures can work together to create something exciting and different.\u2019\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\u2018We\u2019re always looking for local craftsmanship, materials and technologies that we can implement on projects\u2019<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The 85-year-old firm is proud of being a three-generation studio. \u2018That is one way that we differ from other practices,\u2019 says Madaleno when I ask what he thinks the firm\u2019s distinctive \u2018sensibility\u2019 is. \u2018In many ways it has given us the ability to adapt to the needs of our time.\u2019\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Another way they differ from many is that the practice was founded on the model of being both architects and developers (in Mexico), with its SOMA development arm. Madaleno\u2019s grandfather was indeed developer on his very first project \u2013 one of the first mixed-use projects to be built in Mexico City, combining commercial and residential space. \u2018We see real estate as a way of enabling and building our ideas,\u2019 says Madaleno.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Returning to the importance of \u2018context\u2019 in the practice\u2019s approach to design, Madaleno says: \u2018In Mexico this is important because you need to not only be smart about resources for a project but about the natural resources generally.\u2019\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

El Molinon Stadium section<\/p>\n\t

Source:Sordo Madaleno<\/p><\/div>\n

This isn\u2019t a concern that was generated solely out of climate change considerations. Mexico has experienced ecological troubles for a long time, particularly water scarcity and scarcity of natural resources.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The way that the practice has addressed this is by understanding the local context \u2013 by working with local communities and their craftsmanship and skills that have in many cases been developed over hundreds of years.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018So, deciding the materiality of a project is not taken in isolation but comes out of the specific situation and context \u2013 where certain materials may have proved successful over the years.\u2019 He adds: \u2018It\u2019s about learning from the past to address the challenges of the present.\u2019\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The mantra \u2018more with less\u2019 also touches on lots of the ideas in the studio. \u2018We need to be really smart with the resources that we have and try to do more with less,\u2019 says Madaleno, clarifying that by that he means using local materials and skills.<\/p>\n

The practice has just completed the Academia Atlas FC project, a sports centre located in Zapopan, in the Mexican state of Jalisco, which supports young players while acting as an \u2018architectural landmark embracing the tradition and future\u2019 of one of Mexico\u2019s most long-lived teams. On a 7ha site, the complex brings together a football club, clubhouses facilities for applied sports science and offices in a single building, in addition to six professional sports fields.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

Academia Atlas Sports Centre, Zapopan, Mexico<\/p>\n\t

Source:Edmund Sumner<\/p><\/div>\n

On this scheme local brick doubles up as the external wall finish, as well as being exposed in the interior and for the insulation system \u2013 a construction method permitted by Mexico\u2019s warm and dry climate. \u2018Using materials in a smart way is super-important in the time that we are living,\u2019 says Madaleno.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Finally, I ask how the London studio sees itself developing in the future once they start working on projects closer to home (in the UK). Madaleno refers back to the firm being a three-generation practice. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018It will be interesting to see how the sensibilities we have developed over this time can be applied to the opportunities and challenges here,\u2019 he says. \u2018We\u2019re not a studio that is defined by a style. It is our ways of thinking that is our approach.\u2019 <\/span><\/p>\n

He concludes: \u2018What we see as critical issues \u2013 such as resources, local craftsmanship, cultural identity \u2013 enable us to go deep into the places and contexts where we\u2019re working.\u2019 This understanding of working with local materials, skills, and communities, in both an ecologically and socially sustainable context is an appropriate skill to bring to London.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Madaleno says coming to London without a project based here was also all part of the process. \u2018We need to live here first, to understand the culture, the ways of doing things \u2013 and then we will be better equipped to, hopefully, come up with interesting ideas and solutions from our own distinctive perspective.\u2019\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

Academia Atlas Sports Centre<\/p>\n\t

Source:Edmund Sumner<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u2018Materiality is linked to our architecture because materiality is always linked to a place,\u2019 says Fernando Sordo Madaleno, the 33-year-old director of the London office of his eponymous Mexican practice. \u2018To put this into context, we\u2019re a Mexican firm used to working in a really biodiverse and multicultural country. This has given us lots of …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":59337,"featured_media":746708,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"ep_exclude_from_search":false},"categories":[721],"tags":[2132,100810,1470],"yoast_head":"\nSordo Madaleno on using local materials and skills and setting up in London<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"One of Mexico\u2019s largest practices, Sordo Madaleno, has just set up shop in London. 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