DI: What has been your main focus in designing this work? Especially what did you want to achieve?
: A unique product (housing complex) that can be considered as "urban art" with a selling ticket similar to the competition.
DI: What are your future plans for this award winning design?
: We believe it could be a wake-up call for new generations of architects to explore more innovative ideas where everything has a reason to exist and not so much into expensive unnecessary materials that could or could not be essential for the projects.
DI: How long did it take you to design this particular concept?
: The conceptual design was about a month, maybe a little more; the whole design process was about four months.
DI: Why did you design this particular concept? Was this design commissioned or did you decide to pursuit an inspiration?
: The client asked for the project to be “different”, but economically accessible, in which "nothing felt extra"; any material or element that he felt didn’t have a functional purpose, was going to be removed at the time of construction. With a main facade facing south, in Yucatan, we knew that the protection from the sun was a must, however, a skin or lattice was no longer an option if we wanted to achieve what the client requested; it would be necessary to find within the architectural program a way to protect the user, and at the same time, turn this resource into a fundamental one for the success of the project, which without it, the project could not work. The stairs where the answer.
DI: What made you design this particular type of work?
: The challenge of achieving what the client wanted/needed. It is no longer oxymoronic to say unique and low-cost.
DI: Where there any other designs and/or designers that helped the influence the design of your work?
: Many life teachers, but not one in particular.
DI: Who is the target customer for his design?
: Young couples.
DI: What sets this design apart from other similar or resembling concepts?
: Many people think that doing something unique, or different, usually is expensive; Sonata came to prove that wrong.
DI: How did you come up with the name for this design? What does it mean?
: Sonata, as in music, is a compositional procedure that uses two contrasting themes, complexity in its unity and simplicity in its repetition.
DI: Which design tools did you use when you were working on this project?
: Hands, brains and hearts.
DI: What is the most unique aspect of your design?
: The intersection between the stairs.
DI: Who did you collaborate with for this design? Did you work with people with technical / specialized skills?
: With structural engineers and lightning experts.
DI: What is the role of technology in this particular design?
: It doesn't have a big role. We tried to look back at the basics, we wanted the design to be pure, a project that could live without cutting edge technology.
DI: Is your design influenced by data or analytical research in any way? What kind of research did you conduct for making this design?
: Not really.
DI: What are some of the challenges you faced during the design/realization of your concept?
: Finding the mix between unique and low-cost.
DI: How did you decide to submit your design to an international design competition?
: We've heard about the award before and always wanted to be part of it; we believe Sonata is our ticket to get in.
DI: What did you learn or how did you improve yourself during the designing of this work?
: The longer the quest, the better the result.
DI: Any other things you would like to cover that have not been covered in these questions?
: In Arkham we believe in creating architecture with purpose, we believe architecture is a quest for projects to accomplish dreams, that create community and become transcendental. We believe Sonata is that.