Legorreta for less

Residential Architect, Nov-Dec, 2002 by Meghan Drueding

nearly half a million dollars for an attached housing unit doesn't sound like a bargain. But bring in the name Ricardo Legorreta and it suddenly seems (at least to upscale home buyers) like the deal of the new century. Albuquerque, N.M., developer Foothills Estates has commissioned the acclaimed Mexican architect to design Zocalo, a 320-home community on 46.5 acres in Santa Fe, N.M. Base prices start at $199,500 for a 1,022-square-foot one-bedroom unit and go up to $434,000 for a 2,253-square-foot, three-bedroom unit.

Many of Zocalo's buyers plan to use their homes as vacation residences, while others hope to retire there. In any case, each resident will live with the same design ideas that characterize the rest of the firm's work--albeit less luxuriously executed. "The philosophy of our office has never been to do 'very expensive architecture,'" says Victor Legorreta, Ricardo's son and partner in Legorreta Legorreta of Mexico City. "Good architecture shouldn't cost more." The bathrooms in a standard unit, for example, are lined with ceramic tile rather than marble. But the contemplative, light-filled spaces and quietly exuberant exteriors that mark a Legorreta project are there in force. So is a strong relationship to the outdoors. The site plan places the homes in small groups around landscaped entry courtyards, while patios, balconies, and terraces provide each unit with private outdoor space.

Legorreta Legorreta also has designed a 5,700-square-foot village center housing a gym, an outdoor pool, a catering kitchen, private rooms for parties, and office facilities. The first phase of 48 units is under construction and sold out; the developer reports brisk second-phase sales.