(“Text as submitted by Architect”)
Gustavo Carmona
Born in 1975 in Mexico City, Gustavo Carmona is an Architect with professional studies in Architecture at Universidad Anáhuac Norte and a Master’s Degree in Architecture at Arizona State University. In his first professional job, he was part of the office of architect Francisco Serrano Cacho. After completing his master’s studies, he worked in San Francisco, California, for the firm SmithGroupJJR. In 2006 he returned to Mexico and founded MATERIA in Mexico City, along with his wife, architect Lisa Beltrán.
His work and design focus on the idea of sensory experience linked to the careful work of material and detail, a philosophy and process he likes to call “detailed atmosphere”. Along with the gradual development of the design process, he has been interested in forming a uniquely creative and collaborative culture in its values and methods. Until today, the studio has had more than 100 collaborators from 8 different countries.
His 20 years of work encompass a portfolio of very diverse scales and typologies, including Residential, Mixed Uses, Cultural Spaces, High-End Retail, Concept Stores, Offices, Hospitality, Urbanism and Interiors. The projects extend within several cities in Mexico and other countries such as Portugal, the United States, Brazil, Chile, Panama, Colombia, Barbados, Ecuador, and Puerto Rico.
Karla Uribe Fajardo
Born in 1977, Karla Uribe is an Architect with professional studies in Architecture at Universidad Anáhuac Norte and a Certificate NC1 Charret System Harvard Graduate School Design.
In 2011, she started at Materia as the first studio manager. Her technical experience and strategic thinking allowed her to coordinate and guide complex High-End Retail and Residential projects, and clients such as Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, Burberry, Bvlgari, Fendi, in Mexico, Brazil, and five other countries.
In 2021, she became joint director of the studio and also continued managing the technical part of each of the projects, providing special value in design planning, strategy, consulting, and team management.
Practice Ideology
Our work and design focus on the idea of sensory experience linked to the careful work of material and detail, a philosophy and process that we call “detailed atmosphere”. This approach provides an architecture that is both pragmatic, fully responsive to its needs, innovative, and highly sensitive.
Our vocation and process are genuinely contemporary, open, and collaborative. Along with the gradual development of the design process, we have been interested in forming a uniquely creative and collaborative culture in its values and methods.
