Gustavo Carmona was born in 1975 in Mexico City. He holds a Bachelors in Architecture degree from Universidad Anáhuac in Mexico City and a Master’s Degree in Architecture from Arizona State University. Part of his education includes design studios at UC Berkeley and Design Thinking at Harvard University. His professional experience includes working in Mexico, the US, and the founding and development of his own studio MATERIA.
His work focus is centered on the sensory experience linked to the careful craft of materials and tectonic assemblies in a process he calls “Atmosphere, detailed”. The design philosophy is nurtured by the development of a rich collaborative design culture based in empathy, design and innovation.
His 20 years of work encompass a portfolio of diverse scales and typologies including Residential, Mixed Use, Cultural Spaces, High-End Retail, Concept Stores, Workplace, Hospitality, Urban design and Interiors. The Project locations extend to several cities in Mexico and other countries such as Portugal, the United States, Brazil, Chile, Panama, Colombia, Barbados, Ecuador and Puerto Rico.
Gustavo Carmona
Gustavo is a long-time participant in our programs, and in 2024 returned to campus to take Presenting with Confidence and Designing Your Leadership Path: Advanced Communication Strategies to Stand Out in The Age of AI.
You came to Cambridge for both of these programs. How was your experience, and would you recommend that others take both programs back-to-back?
Taking both courses was a great experience. The class was made of people with very diverse backgrounds and industries around the world, providing different approaches and objectives to which they wanted to apply the course to. Professors were also very well versed and had a very dynamic way to handling the course contents.
In 2017, you attended Leadership and Design Thinking, a program you noted still shapes your thinking. What are some of the key concepts from that program that have endured for you?
The Leadership and Design Thinking course was a very special one. It was an in-depth program that helped me understand my leadership within my organization from a very new perspective, also touching on how our personal growth and development impacts the organization. It became a great moment for fundamental ideas that today add value and keep guiding my business.
In Designing Your Leadership Path, you shared the story of your studio – from humble beginnings to designing retail experiences with brands such as Burberry, Prada, Dior, and BVLGARI. In another interview, it was noted that over a decade, you have “collaborated with Louis Vuitton, generating the architectural identity of their stores in Mexico and Latin America.” Looking back on that journey, what was responsible for this growth in your studio’s projects?
I believe that the match with brands such as Louis Vuitton comes from the continuous search for innovation, attention to detail and a creative process filled with curiosity.
Storytelling is used to create memorable experiences and is a focus of these two programs. Please share the story of a recent experience you designed that stands out.
I firmly believe all architectural creation needs to be conceived to tell stories. It is how we engage with people and make places. In recent projects we have pushed ourselves to reimagine programs differently. Last year we were commissioned to design a new showroom for a high-end furniture brand in Mexico City. Their designs are incredibly detailed and their fabrication resorts to craft that has been taught from one generation to another, producing real art pieces. We convinced the clients to think of their showroom as a museum and to expand the meandering within their spaces as to communicate the legacy and heritage their pieces hold. The results have been amazing as it became a must-see store in Mexico and their sales also significantly increased.