Luis Enrique Flores and Armida Fernández of Estudio ALA, based in Guadalajara, Mexico, will deliver the fifth Sandra Vivanco Memorial Lecture with their talk “Fields to Frames: A Collage of Rural Culture.” The lecture delves into their thoughtful approach to architecture and design in rural contexts, where they integrate local traditions, materials, and histories to create projects that honor cultural memory while reimagining conventional methodologies. Known for their sensitivity to the complex relationships between culture, economy, and environment, Estudio ALA’s work reflects a commitment to socio-environmental resilience and the belief in the right to beauty. With a focus on agricultural landscapes and collective imagination, Flores and Fernández will discuss how their practice weaves together time, place, and people to foster equity, belonging, and new possibilities for rural communities.

Estudio ALA is an architectural studio founded in 2012 in Guadalajara, Mexico, by Luis Enrique Flores and Armida Fernández. Flores holds a degree from the University of Guadalajara and a Master of Landscape Architecture (MLA I AP) from the Harvard Graduate School of Design. Fernández, initially trained as an industrial designer, earned her architecture degree from ITESM and a Master in Design Studies (MDes) with a concentration in Risk and Resilience from the Harvard Graduate School of Design.

Together, they have served as adjunct professors at Wentworth University in Boston and have lectured or acted as critics at institutions including Harvard GSD, Veritas University in Costa Rica, National Chiao Tung University and Cheng Kung University in Taiwan, the University of Guadalajara, and ITESM in Mexico. Their work has been widely recognized, with nominations for the Mies Crown Hall Architectural Prize (MCHAP) Emerge in 2016 and 2022, a finalist position at the XXI Pan-American Architecture Biennial in Quito in 2018, and selection for the Mexican Pavilion at the 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale. Most recently, they earned two silver medals at the 2022 Jalisco Architecture Biennial.

Co-presented with the Critical Ethnic Studies Program at CCA.