![Dramatic Art Center_1. Image Courtesy of LLATAS Dramatic Art Center_1. Image Courtesy of LLATAS](https://i0.wp.com/images.adsttc.com/media/images/5bc6/5054/f197/cc77/5000/00db/medium_jpg/Dramatic_Art_Center_1.jpg?ssl=1)
Dramatic Art Center_1. Image Courtesy of LLATAS
The contact between hands and models should never be lost. Going into this experience provokes silence, forcing us to think about the care that goes into concrete models. Few words are needed, as models often tell us everything we need to know through the beauty and simplicity that goes into their creation and the importance of the manual process in an architect’s work.
![National Museum_2. Image Courtesy of LLATAS National Museum_2. Image Courtesy of LLATAS](https://i0.wp.com/images.adsttc.com/media/images/5bc6/51d0/f197/cc77/5000/0105/medium_jpg/National_Museum_2.jpg?ssl=1)
National Museum_2. Image Courtesy of LLATAS
Text by Enrique Llatas:
For my father, who’s taught me to work with my hands since I was a child.
![Monumental Venice_2. Image Courtesy of LLATAS Monumental Venice_2. Image Courtesy of LLATAS](https://i0.wp.com/images.adsttc.com/media/images/5bc6/521d/f197/cc77/5000/010d/medium_jpg/Monumental_Venice_2.jpg?ssl=1)
Monumental Venice_2. Image Courtesy of LLATAS
Native
My father was a military man and, because of this, I had the opportunity to live in different cities throughout Peru. My curiosity was always sparked by the potters going about their work in the streets of Ayacucho, Arequipa, Andahuaylas, and Puno, making their sculptures of mud, stone, plaster, and cement–true art forms that could be found throughout the city streets.
![Yabar┬┤s House_1. Image Courtesy of LLATAS Yabar┬┤s House_1. Image Courtesy of LLATAS](https://i0.wp.com/images.adsttc.com/media/images/5bc6/52b4/f197/cc77/5000/011d/medium_jpg/Yabar%E2%94%AC%E2%94%A4s_House_1.jpg?ssl=1)
Yabar┬┤s House_1. Image Courtesy of LLATAS
![Yabar┬┤s House_4. Image Courtesy of LLATAS Yabar┬┤s House_4. Image Courtesy of LLATAS](https://i0.wp.com/images.adsttc.com/media/images/5bc6/52eb/f197/cc77/5000/0123/medium_jpg/Yabar%E2%94%AC%E2%94%A4s_House_4.jpg?ssl=1)
Yabar┬┤s House_4. Image Courtesy of LLATAS
Once in architecture school, I remember finding great, heavy blocks of perforated concrete, almost impossible to transport; however, the closer I got to them, I found myself in one of the most marvelous spaces that I had ever experienced up to that point.
![Primitivo_1. Image Courtesy of LLATAS Primitivo_1. Image Courtesy of LLATAS](https://i0.wp.com/images.adsttc.com/media/images/5bc6/52ff/f197/cc77/5000/0125/medium_jpg/Primitivo_1.jpg?ssl=1)
Primitivo_1. Image Courtesy of LLATAS
![Primitivo_3. Image Courtesy of LLATAS Primitivo_3. Image Courtesy of LLATAS](https://i0.wp.com/images.adsttc.com/media/images/5bc6/5323/f197/cc77/5000/0129/medium_jpg/Primitivo_3.jpg?ssl=1)
Primitivo_3. Image Courtesy of LLATAS
Work
Greater mass doesn’t mean less light. Upon finishing school, we began to experiment with different materials to be able to express our ideas, working with everything from metallic mesh and fabric, to armed concrete. In that moment, the big question that we asked ourselves was whether or not we could transmit the same method and building environment of an actual project to a smaller model, a mock-up.
![Andenes┬┤s house_3. Image Courtesy of LLATAS Andenes┬┤s house_3. Image Courtesy of LLATAS](https://i0.wp.com/images.adsttc.com/media/images/5bc6/512b/f197/cc77/5000/00f3/medium_jpg/Andenes%E2%94%AC%E2%94%A4s_house_3.jpg?ssl=1)
Andenes┬┤s house_3. Image Courtesy of LLATAS
![Andenes┬┤s house_5. Image Courtesy of LLATAS Andenes┬┤s house_5. Image Courtesy of LLATAS](https://i0.wp.com/images.adsttc.com/media/images/5bc6/513b/f197/cc77/5000/00f5/medium_jpg/Andenes%E2%94%AC%E2%94%A4s_house_5.jpg?ssl=1)
Andenes┬┤s house_5. Image Courtesy of LLATAS
Artisan
In his book “The Artisan,” Richard Sennett tells us that to do is to think. Practice and experimentation always generate new knowledge and the architect is always on the learning path. From books like Alberto Campo Baeza’s “Thinking with the Hands” to Juhani Pallasmaa’s “The Hand that Thinks,” humans are constantly at work expressing ideas with handmade creations.
![Dramatic Art Center_2. Image Courtesy of LLATAS Dramatic Art Center_2. Image Courtesy of LLATAS](https://i0.wp.com/images.adsttc.com/media/images/5bc6/514e/f197/cc77/5000/00f7/medium_jpg/Dramatic_Art_Center_2.jpg?ssl=1)
Dramatic Art Center_2. Image Courtesy of LLATAS
![Dramatic Art Center_5. Image Courtesy of LLATAS Dramatic Art Center_5. Image Courtesy of LLATAS](https://i0.wp.com/images.adsttc.com/media/images/5bc6/5165/f197/cc77/5000/00f9/medium_jpg/Dramatic_Art_Center_5.jpg?ssl=1)
Dramatic Art Center_5. Image Courtesy of LLATAS
Concrete
You create a framework, you add metallic mesh, you prepare a mixture of cement, sand, ochre, and water, and you begin casting. You blend your mixture so as not to generate bubbles in its interior. You fill the mold, you let it dry, you take it out, you throw water on it, and your work is ready.
![PROCESS. Image Courtesy of LLATAS PROCESS. Image Courtesy of LLATAS](https://i0.wp.com/images.adsttc.com/media/images/5bc6/5333/f197/cc77/5000/012b/medium_jpg/PROCESS.jpg?ssl=1)
PROCESS. Image Courtesy of LLATAS
![UTEC university_2. Image Courtesy of LLATAS UTEC university_2. Image Courtesy of LLATAS](https://i0.wp.com/images.adsttc.com/media/images/5bc6/527a/f197/cc77/5000/0117/medium_jpg/UTEC_university_2.jpg?ssl=1)
UTEC university_2. Image Courtesy of LLATAS
Nostalgia
You remember those moments of trying time and time again to build a castle on the beach by mixing sand and water. These memories stay with you, much like when you create your first model.
![National Museum_8. Image Courtesy of LLATAS National Museum_8. Image Courtesy of LLATAS](https://i0.wp.com/images.adsttc.com/media/images/5bc6/51fa/f197/cc77/5000/0109/medium_jpg/National_Museum_8.jpg?ssl=1)
National Museum_8. Image Courtesy of LLATAS
![3N1_9. Image Courtesy of LLATAS 3N1_9. Image Courtesy of LLATAS](https://i0.wp.com/images.adsttc.com/media/images/5bc6/5185/f197/cc77/5000/00fd/medium_jpg/3N1_9.jpg?ssl=1)
3N1_9. Image Courtesy of LLATAS
The architect who created this text and models is the founder of LLATAS. Check his work here.
![Maquetas. Image Courtesy of LLATAS Maquetas. Image Courtesy of LLATAS](https://i0.wp.com/images.adsttc.com/media/images/5bc6/502f/f197/cc77/5000/00d7/medium_jpg/Maquetas.jpg?ssl=1)
Maquetas. Image Courtesy of LLATAS
![Office models. Image Courtesy of LLATAS Office models. Image Courtesy of LLATAS](https://i0.wp.com/images.adsttc.com/media/images/5bc6/5389/f197/cc77/5000/0135/medium_jpg/Office_models.jpg?ssl=1)
Office models. Image Courtesy of LLATAS