An author-led architectural studio is defined by what does not happen: the design principal does not hand the project to a project architect after the first presentation. The studio head does not appear at concept and reappear at ribbon cutting. One architect leads every decision from the first site observation to the final punch list.
In MÉTODO, this is how every project works. It is also why we take four projects per year.
What Author-Led Practice Actually Requires
Author-led practice requires time that is genuinely impossible to compress. A project with direct design leadership demands the principal architect's attention at moments that cannot be scheduled in advance: when the structural engineer's solution creates a conflict with the section, when the contractor finds an unexpected condition in the foundation, when a window detail that looked correct on paper needs adjustment on site.
At a large firm, these moments are handled by project staff. The design principal reviews the resolution at the next milestone meeting. The decision is made by someone who was not present at all the decisions that led to it. This is not a criticism of large-firm practice — it is how institutional architecture at scale works. It is simply different from what we do.
In MÉTODO, the architect who saw the site in winter, who drew the first section, who selected the stone sample, and who resolved the structural conflict is the same person who is on site when the concrete is poured for the first bearing wall. The continuity is complete.
The Section as the Author's Tool
In author-led practice, the section is the primary design instrument because it is where the most consequential decisions are made: the relationship between floor levels, the height and proportion of openings, the connection between structural and spatial logic, the light path from roof to floor. La sección como relato — the section as narrative — is not a metaphor. It is a description of how we work.
A section drawn early and held with discipline through the project creates a different kind of building than one where the section is derived from the plan after the rooms are arranged. The section-first approach means the spatial sequence — how you move through the building, how light changes as you move, how the volumes relate vertically — is designed before the plan is filled in.
This is what produces spaces that feel resolved rather than decorated. The proportions are not accidental. The light does not arrive at a window because a window needed to be placed there. The height of the ceiling relates to the depth of the plan and the angle of the sun on the south elevation at the winter solstice. These are authorial decisions that require continuity to maintain.
CDMX as Design Context
Mexico City is a specific and demanding architectural context. The city is seismically active, which constrains structural choices in ways that are not optional. The density of the urban fabric means most residential projects are on small lots with tight setbacks and complex neighbor relationships. The climate — temperate, high altitude, variable humidity — rewards passive design strategies that require precision to work.
Working in this context for years produces specific knowledge: which soils require deep foundation systems, which seismic zones trigger additional engineering review, which suppliers can deliver quality stone and wood on a construction schedule, which contractors understand reinforced concrete residential work at a level of precision that the design requires.
This accumulated knowledge is part of what an author-led studio offers. It is not something that exists in a firm's institutional knowledge base — it lives in the architect who has navigated those decisions on actual projects.
How MÉTODO Approaches a New Project
The process before the style: every project begins with site observation, not with design. We visit the site at different times of day when possible, document solar angles, read the topography, observe the existing vegetation, and photograph the views that will matter inside the building. This is not preliminary work before design begins. It is design — the most important design, because it cannot be undone.
From site observation, we develop the primera sección — the first section cut that begins to resolve the spatial logic. This is where the program begins to take shape in relation to the site rather than as a list of rooms. The client participates in reviewing this section, not as a validation of a complete design but as the beginning of the conversation about what the building will be.
The matrix of options — our structured comparison of key variables — follows. For a CDMX residential project, this matrix typically covers: structural system options given the site's seismic zone, section organization options around the site's constraints, three to four material combinations, and roof form options that respond to rain and solar conditions. The client decides with complete information, not with a single proposal to accept or reject.
Próximos pasos
Author-led practice in Mexico City means a client works directly with the architect who designed their building at every phase. The building that results reflects continuous, traceable design decisions — not a concept executed by a team with its own interpretations.
To understand whether your project fits MÉTODO's practice model, conoce el método de MÉTODO and contact us directly.