Iron in the furnace

Pulled from the fire and coals of the forge, a gloved hand carries the orange-red hot iron to the anvil, the smith thinking about how it will be shaped – of what it will become as he selects his first tool. As the hammer strikes and sparks fly – what started as an image or memory in the architect’s head and was transmitted to paper first in a sketch and then refined in more detail – is now taking its first step towards the finished piece that will make its future placement more than just an object well-appointed home or building. The relationship between the designer and the craftsman, in this case the ironsmith, is what make objects take on added dimensions – where we trust in their ability to make something from hand, apply their artistry to the material and imbuing the work with the spirit of their trade – often something learned through the generations of family and at the hands of the master craftsmen that they follow.

The ironsmith’s tools

The ironsmith’s shop can be a place that is hot and noisy, with the bellows stoking fires and a variety of tools banging away. It can also look like a treasure trove of ornament as work pieces are in process, samples and studies of elements line the shop’s walls, drawings are laid open on desks, twists of metal hammered to fine curls of folding leaves and chiseled details bringing the metal to life.

Images from the shop at Iron Age Studio

There are times when working the metal is just all about the texture, getting a hammered finish that you will feel as your hand drags along a railing or seeing the subtle variation of light reflecting in the hammer marks. Then there is the finessing of this simple hammered bar into a finished element – like as a railing with pickets piercing the cap and hammered flat, or in a strap around a stone column that anchors the rail.

Hammered iron bar

Railing cap pierced by pickets with heads hammered flat

Iron railing strap wrapping a limestone column

At other times it is about the shape and the ironsmith using his tools to transform the metal from basic stock materials into decorative elements – bending into scrolls that have tongues hammered flat, shaping iron into a faceted ring that, in the hands, you can feel the weight and the detail chisel marks that have incised a pattern into the surface, or combining hooks and rings to hang simple, yet well-crafted rustic chandeliers.

Image 9_ at work in the shop of Rheme Custom Iron work

Ironsmith at work in the shop of Rheme Custom Iron Work

Iron scroll (left), Decorative iron ring (right)

Iron chandelier

Well-crafted architecture is often accented by the artistry and ornament, and it is here where the craftsman’s true passion shows through. This is often achieved in utilitarian elements like hardware – where a door latch and throw are embellished by the designer and the hand of a talented craftsman.

Image 13 - concept sketch for door hardware

Conceptual sketch by Brandan Moss

Realized door hardware at a west Texas ranch

Inspired by the naturalistic patterns of William Morris, the design of an iron screen for a wine room intended to capture the shapes and forms of the local Texas landscape. The initial design defined the elements and pattern, but the initial conversations with the ironsmith opened the door to a more artistic interpretation. The palate of elements became more defined to include thistle blossoms, oak leaves and acorns, persimmon fruit, and hanging wild grapes, with the occasional bird sitting perched among the branches. As these forms were hammered out and mock-ups tested, the artist’s handiwork was becoming more apparent. Ultimately realized in a waxed iron finish, it captures the spirit of the original concept, the client’s love of their local setting and the room it frames.

Image 15_ Craftsman at work at Herrera Ornamental iron work

Craftsman at work in the shop at Hererra Ornamental Iron Work

Image 16_ coneptual sketch for iron screen

Conceptual sketch for decorative iron screen by Bryan Morales

Image 17_ Detail of oranmental screen in progress

Detail of ornamental iron screen in progress

Iron screen set in wine room

We are always thankful to these great artisans, who with fire, anvil, hammer and chisel, bring added dimension, character and vitality to our work.

Categories: Architecture, Design, Sketches

Parting Storm

Michael Imber

Posted on February 8, 2019

Winslow Homer, The Winter Coast, 1890

In the gathering morning I was eager to get out of our house, the blizzard had passed in the night leaving the snow piled high and the wind still blowing under scattered clouds. My wife worried that I’d end up in a ditch somewhere as she watched me disappear down the snow covered road. As luck would have it, it wasn’t long before I met with a snowplow, already on its way to free us from the storm’s icy grip. As I reach the main road, I realize the danger of being held captive wouldn’t have lasted long, for every pickup I pass has a plow bolted to the front bumper, on a mission to clear every inch of snow. Even at this early hour, the dirt road to my destination—a seaside preserve—was plowed (or rather, marked as someone’s territory) all the way to the car park.

Frederick Judd Waugh, Rocky Coast and Sea, 1907

Like a crow, I high-step through the deep snow making my way down a white path carved through frozen and thorny wild roses, towards the roar over the ridge. At the mouth of the cove I pause to watch tide and wind battle as waves furiously wrestle un-seen forces, going nowhere. As I top the hill, the cold wind bites full force and the ground seems to shake beneath my feet. I feel small here—land, sea and sky battling for supremacy.

Winslow Homer, Driftwood, 1909

The tremendous waves, driven for miles by the storm, crash against the unforgiving shore; to heave, withdraw and heave again, beating down, time and time again upon the solid rock. Here, in this place, they can go no further. Heavy clouds speed above, free of gravity’s bond. Beyond—where the sea grows calmer—a line of light suddenly illuminates Brimstone Island, it’s snowy crown flashing in the light. Suddenly it goes dark, as the light races on across the shadowy waters. Towards me. On me. On skyward spray. Gone.

George Bellows, Approach of Rain, 1913

This battle between land, sea and sky has fascinated artists for generations. Particularly, Maine and the Atlantic Coast drew artists to it’s weather, land and seascapes.

Thomas Birch, The Shipwreck, 1837

Leon Kroll, Monhegan Seascape, 1913

John Singer Sargent, Mid-ocean, Mid-winter, 1876

Frederic E. Church, Rough Surf, 1850

Abraham J. Bogdanove, Rocky Coast, undated

George Bellows, Blackhead and Sea, 1913

I feel intimidated and powerful at the same time standing in the storm, and with so many artists that I admire who tackled the elements. I think of the famous picture by Turner, impressionistic and moody far before the impressionism movement, where he is said to have strapped himself to the mast of his boat to experience and capture the storm.

JMW Turner, Snow Storm, Steam-Boat off a Harbour’s Mouth, 1842

Take the work of Winslow Homer, where painting is not the only answer, but about a constant and obsessive search within. The ocean was his eternal and fomidable muse.

Winslow Homer, West Point, Prout’s Neck, 1900

Winslow Homer, Northeaster, 1895

Winslow Homer, Watching the Breakers, 1891

The clouds move away & the white-tipped waves calm themselves to gentle swells marked with foamy tendrils. The sun’s rays illuminate the scattered clouds, now fading entirely. It is time for me to go home, away from the coast and back to the humid soft spring that awaits me in Texas, fields already dotted with budding wildflowers. Although I have a love of all seasons, I feel regret leaving the icy sea and its fury—appreciating all the amazing painters who have captured these tantrums of nature for us to enjoy long after the storms have passed.

The author’s watercolor of a stormy sea

Categories: About Michael

Tagged: Abraham J. Bogdanove, Frederic E. Church, Frederick Judd Waugh, George Bellows, John Singer Sargent, Leon Kroll, Thomas Birch, Winslow Homer

Stories and Sketches

Robert Dinkins

Posted on February 1, 2019

Watercolor of Rivendell, an elven realm in the Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien. 1937. From Tolkien Maker of Middle-Earth by Catherine McIlwaine.

In 1949, a well-respected but fairly unknown professor of Old and Middle English at the University of Oxford released the third and final book of a fantasy trilogy which, to his own delight and his publisher’s great surprise, would become one of the best selling novels ever written. The Lord of the Rings trilogy is the tip of the iceberg of J.R.R. Tolkien’s mythological and legendary storytelling. Within its many pages he found the pinnacle of his novels, short stories, essays and the languages, places, and people that influenced them.

Troll’s Hill by J.R.R. Tolkien from The Hobbit. Early 1930s. From Tolkien Maker of Middle-Earth by Catherine McIlwaine.

His interest in traditional folktales led to a wide range of historic contexts for his stories. Not only did he employ words to paint his masterpieces but he also was equipped to use drawing and painting. Although he did not consider himself a great artist, his third son Christopher finished most of his visual works, the artistic capabilities he did have certainly serviced his strengths as writer. Thus, the depths of his understanding of a story was immense.

Conversation with Smaug from the Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. From Tolkien Maker of Middle-Earth by Catherine McIlwaine.

Death of Smaug by J.R.R. Tolkien from The Hobbit. From Tolkien Maker of Middle-Earth by Catherine McIlwaine.

J.R.R. Tolkien needed long stretches of solitude to perfect his creations. However, he had a small group of colleagues who met together as an informal discussion group and they profoundly affected the works that he produced. Naming themselves the ‘Inklings,’ they professed to be exploring the foundation of writing and religious faiths alike. To do so, these gatherings would consist of reading from a piece of poetry or literature, typically Norse or otherwise mythological, with some review and discussion to follow.

Left to Right: Commander James Dundas-Grant, Colin Hardie, Dr. Robert E. Humphrey Harvard, C.S. Lewis, and Peter Harvard at the Trout pub. Godstow. c.1947. (Image provided courtesy of the Marion E. Wade Center, Wheaton College, Wheaton IL. From Tolkien Maker of Middle-Earth by Catherine McIlwaine.

From left to right: G.C.N. Mackarness, Charles Cartwright, J.r.r. Tolkien, Anthony Shakespeare, and B.J. Tolhurst. Exeter College, Oxford. May, 1914. From Tolkien Maker of Middle-Earth by Catherine McIlwaine.

Although the membership of this band of brothers was fluid, there were several statuary members among whom included C.S. Lewis, another author who would come to acclaimed literary success. Together within the confines of a sixteenth century pub both camaraderie and conflict would occur over the variety of topics brought forth during the week.

Garden-gate, Chateau de Sorel, Dreux, Eure.

At our office we meet every Friday afternoon for our “Sketch Club” after our work for the week is complete. Similarly to the Inklings, we spend time practicing the creative process and following it with a group discussion afterwards.

Tower Clocks and Bells.

Rock outpost with an uncanny similarity to Tolkien’s imagination.

What we draw is not the sole focus, so much as how we draw. Here we get to test our ideas, practice techniques with a variety of mediums, and challenge ourselves in an environment conducive to personal improvement. Sometimes we focus on very practical elements like a certain patterning technique, while at other times our reinterpretations of an image exercises our visual storytelling muscles. The masters of this craft, like Bertram Goodhue and O.R. Eggers, are always used as points of reference.

Folly in the Adirondack Mountains.

In the end, our stories are better because we have rubbed shoulders. As Tolkien remarked after the passing of his fellow Inklings member CS Lewis, “The unpayable debt that I owe to him was not ‘influence’ as it is ordinarily understood, but sheer encouragement… But for his interest and unceasing eagerness for more I should never have brought The Lord of the Rings to a conclusion.”This sentiment is true for our office as well. Our pursuit of creating places of beauty and meaning is changed in the best way through our club’s camaraderie.

Basilica of the Little Flower. San Antonio, Texas.

An ink and wash conceptual rendering by our principal architect.

Sketch of the World War I Memorial, Washington D.C.

Categories: About Michael

Tagged: author, C.S.Lewis, fantasy, tolkien, watercolor, writing

Wax Architects

Robert Dinkins

Posted on January 25, 2019

A honey bee gathering pollen.

Honeybees are some of nature’s most efficient and effective architects. Due to their ability to process pollen or nectar into honey and wax, not only do they provide a majority of their own resources but their methodology allows for hundreds or thousands of bees to construct their hive simultaneously. In what we perceive as chaos, the honeybees are able to conduct the hive’s construction while also raising their larva and providing storage for honey.

A honey bee storing honey within the hive’s hexagonal cells.

Known for its iconic hexagonal shape the honey comb surprisingly begins as a circular hole surrounded by loose wax fibers, similar in shape to a cocoon. As an addition to the hive’s framework, the newly created cell is populated with a larva but the responsibility of not only nurturing the pupae but also forming the hive falls on the nursing bee. These bees will heat the loosely formed wax fibers and plates around the circular cell. In doing so the cell’s circular form is heated repeatedly allowing the loose wax and fibers to join together and is molded by the nursing bee into the hexagonal shape most are familiar with.

The tepee was used by the nomadic tribes of the Great Plains in Canada and the United States.

The evolution of human shelter follows a similar theme over the course of coming from hunter-gatherers to agricultural societies. After our cave dwelling ancestors, nomadic tribes have their humble beginnings in rounded living quarters like huts and tepees. As we progressed to hunter-gatherers a mobile living set-up was a much more viable option for shelter. As humanity grew into an agricultural species these rounded huts became stationary and adjacent to fields of various grains and vegetables.

Mud bricks dry with straw to reduce cracking.

Although we began in rounded tents or huts, circular shelters are less efficient as permanent living quarters. There are only three optimal shapes when seeking to effectively use as much space as possible; the equilateral triangle, squares, and hexagons. Also, cultivating wheat and a variety of other foods required new industrial technology, such as the ox drawn scythes, that works best in a square or rectangular formation. Thus, dividing property and land followed the square form.

Similarly, materials used to builds our shelters evolved to fit this form. Rather than using a plethora of misshapen or incongruous animals bones and hides — newly designed materials such as brick and wooden logs or planks provided shelters with better warmth and living space, fit contiguously with the fields, and were more available to individuals.

A slight aerial view of Thomas Jefferson’s holiday home at Poplar Forest.

Although squares and rectangles dominated the western architectural scene, octagons (containing two more sides than the hexagon) are our adaptation of the honeybee’s efficiency. In a variety of cultures and religions, octagons symbolize “completeness” or “wholeness”, a spiritual communion with the material universe. In the United States octagonal floor plans became fairly common in the 1800s due to Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest estate.

Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest, Virginia

Jefferson inherited a 4,819 acre property from his father-in-law in 1773 but neither he nor his wife Martha were interested in developing the property at the time. It wasn’t until the death of his wife and his terms as President of the United States ended that Jefferson began visiting the property regularly. His octagonal home on site was completed in 1816 and served as his escape from his inner city Monticello property.

The lower arcade, below the pillars, is used to cool the first floor of the home where the cellar and food storage is located.

Jefferson, a self-made architect from his studies in France and his time in Washington D.C., greatly admired Palladio’s classical style. His eclectic design not only featured Palladian influence but also drew from 18th century French, English, and Virginian architecture. Possibly the first octagonal house built in the United States, the two story structure consists of eight equally long brick walls and features “pediment porticoes on low arcades on both the north and south facades as well as the eastern and western stairwells.” Unlike other octagonal homes the interior consisted of a center square surrounded by four elongated octagonal rooms, the center space has no walls, thus providing a soaring two story floor plan.

North Elevation of Poplar Forest. Courtesy of the Library of Congress.

South Elevation of Poplar Forest. Courtesy of the Library of Congress.

First Floor Plan of Poplar Forest. Courtesy of the Library of Congress.

North – South Section of Poplar Forest. Courtesy of the Library of Congress.

When compared to the square an octagon encompasses 20% additional space with the same perimeter and is more cost effective in building materials. Other benefits of octagonal houses typically included; a rainwater collection and filtration system connected to the roof, central heating which was more evenly distributed from a basement furnace, efficient and manageable air flow, as well as increased light exposure.

Here are a few honorable mentions,

Waverley Mansion by Memphis architect J. Frazer Smith. Columbus, Mississippi. 1852.

John Richards Octagon House. Watertown, Wisconsin. 1854.

John Richards Octagon House — now a museum.

Longwood, known as Nutt’s Folly, by Philadelphian architect Samuel Sloan. Natchez, Mississippi. 1859.

Categories: About Michael

Tagged: architect, hexagon, hive, honey, Jefferson, octagon, wax

Ex Libris

Michael Imber

Posted on January 18, 2019

There is something very personal about the books that people collect. The books in my library tell a story about who I am, and also who I used to be. I have an emotional connection to my books. The Latin expression Ex Libris simply means “from the books of” and has been used for centuries to identify who owns the books, and also let borrowers know where to return them. Also known as Bookplates, these small posters tell large stories within their small footprint. The designs are reminiscent of logo designs in that they reflect the libraries, and people, who they were made for.

Considered the first bookplate dating from 1480

Bookplates date back to Egypitian times, but the first physical example is one from Germany made for Hilprand Brandenburg of Biberach. After the 1950’s, people began collecting bookplates. They spread from Germany all around Europe, and their diversity reflects the time and place that they came from.

It is enjoyable to look at bookplates from known figures because they tend to reflect the public image of the libraries they come from. Some people, such as Nelson Rockefeller, had many different ones–his collection included one designed by his friend Pablo Picasso.

Two additional bookplates, the one of the left is Picasso

Oliver Wendell Holmes’s bookplate has the Latin phrase “From breadth to depth”. Father to Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. the associate supreme court judge, he was an American physician, poet, and polymath based in Boston making his inscription seem very accurate.

Spenceley, J. Winfred (Joseph Winfred), 1865-1908, engraver

The plates for artists are equally interesting, and sometimes deviate from their work.

The architect Grosvenor Goodhue’s bookplate introduces a man with pen and quill being reached for by a skeleton, a common theme in bookplates (including our own office design). A multi-talented designer, you can see his attention to detail in his design for the Los Angeles public library. He also was a typographer and notably designed the font Cheltenham.

Los Angeles public library

Los Angeles public library detail

Original sketches of Cheltenham by Bertram Goodhue (Source: Anatomy of a Typeface)

The bookplates from the golden age of Hollywood reflect the famous public personas they represent. Looking through them you can get impressions of their tastes and what was important to them.

Part of our Library collection

The offices bookplate contains the Latin phrase, “Ut conclave sine libris ita corpus sine anima” which means “A room without books is like a body without a soul”― Marcus Tullius Cicero. Books have such an important role in our lives and our history, and these bookplates seems to thank the books by touching them with the compliment of pride of ownership and the acknowledgement of the value we ascribe them.

Categories: About Michael

Tagged: bookplates, ex libris

A Texas Holiday Tradition

Mac White

Posted on December 14, 2018

The holiday season in San Antonio is marked by an old Texas tradition as the time to prepare and eat tamales. For years, our family’s Christmas Eve was celebrated with a dinner of chili and tamales.

Florentine Codex, Book 2, which shows ‘The Eating of Tamales Stuffed with Amaranth Greens.”

From book 2 of the Florentine Codex which shows the eating of tamales

While one of the most basic of foods, it is also one of the oldest. Tamales date back to the Aztec and Mayan civilizations and are a way that ancient rituals link us to our current holiday traditions. The word tamale is derived from the Aztec word tamalii which means wrapped food. Although no clear origin story for the first tamales can be found, there has been references made to them going back as far as the 1500’s. Images from the Florentine Codex–a 16th-century ethnographic research project in Mesoamerica by Franciscan friar Bernardino de Sahagún–show representations of native Mayan people eating tamales.

Different ways to wrap and shape tamales

San Antonio and Los Angeles were obvious early entry points for the tamales to be integrated into local culture. Sold by vendors out of wagons and pushcarts known as ‘chili queens’, they were popularized in part because they travel and re-heat well. Today, you can see the vestigial influence of the cart vendors when you see a homemade shingle posted at a residence or business advertising tamales for sale by the dozen. If you live in San Antonio, take a chance if you see this kind of makeshift pop-up seller, they can be some of the best in the city, but the best are always when you receive the true “gift” of homemade tamales shared by friends.

history_san_antonio_market_square-300x336

Chili queens in Military Plaza and a portrait of a tamale vendor

The tradition also caught on in the Mississippi Delta where it is suspected that it was introduced by migrant laborers in the early part of the twentieth century. Famed blues man Robert Johnson sung about them in the 1936 song “They’re Red Hot”.

Have-some-Robert-Johnson-with-your-tamales-at-Abes-BBQ-at-the-Crossroads-in-Clarksdale-Mississippi-photo-by-Sheila-Scarborough

Picture of Robert Johnson and tamales at Abe’s BBQ at the crossroads in Clarksdale MI (photo by Sheila Scarborough)

Another factor in this important tradition is that a social event–a tamalada–is held to prepare them. As Rhett Rushing said in an interview for NPR, “By the time the day was over and the tamales were made, the family would be caught up, the arguments resolved, differences aired, it wasn’t just about the masa and the meat. It was the love and the tears.” Traditionally multiple generations of women in a family took part in these celebrations, but now it is routinely a mix of men and woman, multiple generations, and non-family friends. Even in school, my daughters have grown up with the “classroom tamalada” as part of their yearly holiday traditions. Because many families developed their own coveted recipes that have been passed down for generations, there is a lot of varieties of holiday tamales from the traditional to the spicy and the sweet.

La Tamalada

We asked around our office for some recommendations –

Today in the office we are all enjoying Michael’s favorite tamales from Adelita Tamales & Tortilla Factory (www.adelitatamales.com).

Marissa shares that her family and friends from the “valley” in South Texas favorite place is Delias (www.deliastamales.com).

Viviana recently brought the office bags of wonderful tamales from Delicious Tamales (they ship in Texas, New York, Florida and California: http://www.deliastamales.com).

Many friends also recommended another long time San Antonio favorite – Tellez Tamales & Barbacoa (210) 433-1367).

So enjoy a few tamales this Holiday Season, share with us any of your favorites and Merry Christmas Y’all!!

Categories: About Michael

Colonial Architecture of Oaxaca – Part II

Ginger Ayala

Posted on December 7, 2018

La Guelaguestza, pronounced “gay-luh-gets-uh,” is held every year on the last two Mondays of July—“Mondays on the Hill,” in the center of Oaxaca de Juarez, Mexico. The festival celebrates Mexico’s indigenous cultures through dance, traditional attire, and native food. It originates from pre-colonial traditions when indigenous communities would gather in mid-July to celebrate Chicomecoatl the maize goddess and ask her, for a fruitful harvest. After Spanish colonialization, Catholic missionaries discouraged pagan rituals, changing indigenous festivals to reflect the beliefs of Christianity.

Illustration of Chicomecoatl or Xilonen “seven snakes” goddess of agriculture.

Prior to 1920, Guelaguestza was a celebration honoring Our Lady of Mount Carmel. In 1920 an earthquake struck Oaxaca damaging significant amounts of the city. The community was in despair and the city’s morale was at a low, so the state government devised a plan to re-organize La Guelaguetza into “reciprocal exchanges of gifts and services” to involve statewide communities and showcase their unique cultures. Keeping true to the importance of sharing, reciprocity, and extended community to the indigenous cultures, the festival was redefined to better connect the people of Mexico.

The festival goes beyond the two days of celebration, extending across the city into plazas, parks, and the surrounding villages. Processions of dancers fill the streets and plazas—interacting with the audience, handing out shots of mezcal, and pulling people to dance with them. Oaxaca in July is full of celebration at every turn.

Café Volador, Oaxaca Mexico.

While in Oaxaca I found myself relaxing at Volador—my favorite local coffee shop, located down the street from Santo Domingo de Guzman on Calle de Xolotl a pedestrian zone.

I would sit in the window seal of Volador watching scenes pass by—listening to the children practice their instruments at the music school, Arsnova Academia de Musica, and fill the air with classical Mexico songs, dogs in the adjacent houses barking to the tune; the smell of traditional cooking from El Quinque, located at the corner of the plaza, coating the air and enticing everyone too eat their delicious entrees. During Guelaguestza the plaza is full of different events.

Women dancing the traditional Flor de Pina at Guelaguestza Photo credit Instituto Cultural Oaxaca.

Women dancing the traditional dance at Guelaguestza Photo credit Vanessa Teran.

Adults and children dance Torito’s dance along with a variety of other traditional dances. People are dressed in different attires, ranging from jauguar mixteco to the traditional wear of Istmo de Tehuantepec. At nightfall the plaza clears and the youth take over—using the walls as goal post for their late night futbol games, drinking caguamas, and socializing prior to dancing the night away. In Oaxaca de Juarez, there are nearly one hundred plazas woven throughout the city—each different from the other.

Santo Domingo Church at sunset photo credit by Christian Heeb.

The Plaza of Santo Domingo de Guzman is located down the street from Volador, and nearby Calle Alcala and A Gurrion are, both pedestrian only streets. The plaza is full of vendors, restaurants, and artisanal shops. Across from the plaza, Instituto de Artes, founded by Francisco Toledo, houses some of Latin America’s most important graphic arts. Also a cultural center with an open Library, it host frequent events and activities.

Luce art of ‘Lapiztola’ on walls of Instituto de Artes.

Kids studying at the interior courtyard of Instituto de Artes.

Santo Domingo Plaza is constantly full of people either lounging along the retaining walls in front of the church, passing by on their way to work, or shopping for local products. During the season of Guelaguestza is becomes the main thoroughfare for the dancing processions.

Oaxaca has the largest indigenous population 50 percent—of any state, and they comprise 20 percent of Mexico’s overall indigenous population. They have a significant impact on Oaxaca, Mexico that is felt across the entire country and impacts traditional festivals like La Guelaguestza.

Photo of Oaxaquenos in traditional wear in front of Santo Domingo.

After working in Oaxaca for six months, I learned about much more than just architecture. I learned about the culture and values of Mexico and the joy of this beautiful place and culture will forever be imprinted on my memory. I now find myself on a new adventure—this time in my hometown of San Antonio—working for Michael G. Imber Architects, and exploring the history and culture of Texas and the whole United States. Let’s see where the road leads me.

Categories: About Michael

Tagged: architecture, culture, festival, mexico, tradition

The blog of Michael G Imber Architects

Hand Forged

Mac White

Posted on February 22, 2019

Parting Storm

Michael Imber

Posted on February 8, 2019

Stories and Sketches

Robert Dinkins

Posted on February 1, 2019

Wax Architects

Robert Dinkins

Posted on January 25, 2019

Ex Libris

Michael Imber

Posted on January 18, 2019

A Texas Holiday Tradition

Mac White

Posted on December 14, 2018

Colonial Architecture of Oaxaca – Part II

Ginger Ayala

Posted on December 7, 2018