Ricardo Legorreta Vilchis (May 7, 1931 – December 30, 2011) was a Mexican architect. He was a prolific designer of private houses, public buildings and master plans in Mexico, the United States of America and some other countries. He was awarded the prestigious UIA Gold Medal in 1999, the AIA Gold Medal in 2000, and the Praemium Imperiale in 2011. Life and career Ricardo Legorreta was born on May 7, 1931, in Mexico City. He studied architecture at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, from where he graduated in 1953. After working for ten years with José Villagrán García, he established his own office in 1963. Architectural expression Legorreta was a disciple of Luis Barragán and carried Barragan's ideas to a wider realm. Barragan, in the 1940s and 1950s amalgamated tradition and the modern movement in architecture yet his work is mostly limited to domestic architecture. Legorreta applied elements of Barragan's architecture in his work including bright colors, play of light and shadow, and solid Platonic geometric shapes. One of the important contributions of Legorreta has been the use of these elements in other building types such as hotels, factories as well as in commercial and educational buildings. His most famous works are the Camino Real Hotel in Mexico City, the IBM Factory in Guadalajara and the Cathedral of Managua. Works In Mexico City 1964, Laboratorios Smith Kline & French, collaboration with Mathias Goeritz, today the Comisión de Derechos Humanos del Distrito Federal, Av. Universidad 1449 1967, Colegio Cedros and Universidad Panamericana Preparatoria, Tecoyotitla 364 y 366, Chimalistac, San Ángel 1967, Casa Lomas Altas 1968, Camino Real hotel, Colonia Anzures 1968, Offices of Celanese Mexicana, now SEMARNAT, Av. Revolución 1425, Tlacopac, San Ángel 1972, Restoration of the Palace of Iturbide, Historic Center 1976, Seguros América offices, today Tribunal Federal de Justicia, Av. Revolución 1508, San Ángel 1985, Kodak factory in Xochimilco 1993, Restoration of the Antiguo Colegio de San Ildefonso, UNAM. Justo Sierra street #16, Historic Center 1993, Papalote Museo del Niño, Bosque de Chapultepec 2nd Section 1994, Restoration of the Club de Banqueros, Av. 16 de Septiembre 27, Historic Center 1994, Remodel of the Chapultepec Zoo 1994, Centro Nacional de las Artes master plan, Edificio de Administración e Investigación, Edificio Central and Escuela Nacional de Artes Plásticas La Esmeralda 1998, Televisa Santa Fe 2001, Tecnológico de Monterrey, Campus Santa Fe 2005, Plaza Juárez including the Museum of Memory and