Interview with Juan Jofre Lora

WHAT’S YOUR NAME?

Juan Jofre Lora

WHAT MOTIVATED YOU TO CHOOSE THE FIELD OF ARCHITECTURE?

I have always loved thinking about spaces and building things with my hands. But if I’m being honest, I was vastly unaware of all of the different design careers out there that I could have chosen. As an immigrant, I remember thinking in high school that if I wanted to build things my two options were civil engineering and architecture. I didn’t know I could have studied industrial design, set design, interiors, etc. In a different world I would have chosen one of those tracks. But I didn’t know. Instead, I joined the architecture department at Cincinnati and fell in love with the way that the program asked me to see and interact with the world. The mixture of history, theory, technology and design was incredible and I’ve never looked back. 

WHAT TYPE OF WORK ARE YOU MOST INTERESTED IN?

I’m most interested in work that is idiosyncratic and deeply personal, and I’ve most recently found that with residential projects. A house is an incredibly personal thing for most people, and I feel privileged that I’ve had the opportunity to walk alongside clients as we imagine their homes. But in a dream scenario I would have the chance to build spaces for faith and reflection. Or spaces that make you feel wonder. Because who wouldn’t want to do that!  

WHAT HAVE BEEN YOUR BIGGEST CHALLENGES SINCE OBTAINING YOUR ARCHITECTURE DEGREE?

The biggest challenge is finding your own way. Even though school prepares you for some of the challenges of being a designer, it doesn’t prepare you for the uncertainty that comes with being in a design field. There are not many of my fellow classmates that are still practicing traditional architecture, which is not necessarily a bad thing. But it shows that almost everyone in this profession is asked at one point or another to evaluate oneself against it. In that way it’s both the most challenging portion of the profession but also the most rewarding because it allows you to find your own way to practice.

WHAT DID YOU LIKE ABOUT ARCHITECTURE SCHOOL?

I loved almost all of it. I loved the pace, the culture, the way that it reframed how I interacted with the world. School taught me to walk around looking up. It taught me to find nuggets of information and turn those into design ideas. I remember walking home at three or four in the morning feeling a sense of immense accomplishment and feeling that I had pushed myself to the outer limits of my abilities. I also loved the community and all of the funny and strange things that happen in studio when everyone is working there. 

ANY CRITICISMS OF THE ARCHITECTURE EDUCATION EXPERIENCE?

I think the biggest criticism of school is the lack of communal projects. In many ways studio is a lonely sport, but the profession is a team activity. I wish we’d had more opportunities to work on larger projects as groups, and that we’d been asked to put our different talents together into larger goals. 

WHAT ARE YOUR PROFESSIONAL GOALS?

I would like to be able to build a practice that is stable, self-sustaining, and where I have the opportunity to work alongside and employ other designers. As an employee I remember thinking about all of the things that were wrong with the firms that I worked at, but now as an independent practitioner I see all of the ways in which a large office is a small wonder. I have grown to appreciate and respect the immense amount of work that goes into keeping an office functioning and doing great work. So, I hope to create a working environment where others would like to remain for a long period of time and help build meaningful work together.

WHO DO YOU CONSIDER TO BE SOME OF YOUR FAVORITE ARCHITECTS?

I just had the opportunity to spend a few days in Naoshima to see and stay in various projects designed by Tadao Ando and it reminded me of all of the reasons that I became an architect. He somehow distills architecture to its essence and creates spaces that are so simple but powerful. But I also love Scarpa and Rogelio Salmona for how they give warmth to the materials they use.

DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE BUILDING OR CITY?

I loved Rome in the winter with all of the citrus fruits in season along the wet, grey streets. But also, the wild inclines of La Paz and the way that city makes absolutely no sense from a structural perspective, yet it exists all the same. And there is nothing like home, Bogota, where the wild green mountains crash against the red brick city and there are lush green spaces everywhere. 

WHAT DO YOU HOPE TO GET OUT OF YOUR AIA BROOKLYN CHAPTER MEMBERSHIP?

Friendships, partners in crime, and a place to think about how our profession can grow and evolve with the needs of the city.