Stars that died in 2023: Ricardo Legorreta, Mexican architect, UIA Gold Medal recipient, died from cancer he was 80.

Tuesday, June 3, 2014

Ricardo Legorreta, Mexican architect, UIA Gold Medal recipient, died from cancer he was 80.

Ricardo Legorreta Vilchis^[1] was a Mexican architect died from cancer he was 80.. He was a prolific designer of private houses, public buildings and master plans in Mexico, the United States and some other countries.^[2]
He was awarded the prestigious UIA Gold Medal in 1999,^[3] the AIA Gold Medal in 2000, and the Praemium Imperiale in 2011.

(May 7, 1931 – December 30, 2011)

Life and career

Ricardo Legorreta was born on May 7, 1931, in Mexico City. He studied architecture at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, from where he graduated in 1953. After working for five years with José Villagrán García, he established his own office in 1963.^[2]

Architectural expression

Legorreta was a disciple of Luis Barragán and carried Barragan's ideas to a wider realm.^{[citation needed]} Barragan, in the 1940s and 1950s amalgamated tradition and the modern movement in architecture yet his work is mostly limited to domestic architecture.^{[citation needed]} Legorreta applied elements of Barragan's architecture in his work including bright colors, play of light and shadow, and solid Platonic geometric shapes.^{[citation needed]} 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.^{[citation needed]} His most famous works are the Camino Real Hotel in Mexico City, the IBM Factory in Guadalajara and the Cathedral of Managua.^{[citation needed]}