Innovative Urban Housing...

Sebastian Mariscal was eighteen years old when he opened his first architectural office, just five years after taking his first auto-cad lesson at the age of thirteen. His father, also an architect, registered for the class but was unable to attend and asked Sebastian if he would take his place. That was then, today Sebastian heads his firm MS-31, an architectural and development company in San Diego’s Little Italy.

Sebastian was born and raised in Mexico City. Growing up, he explains that the worth ethic was very strong in his family and, after excelling at Auto-Cad, began working in his father's office and realized at that point that he wanted to pursue a career in architecture. However because his father dealt mainly in housing, Sebastian set about planning his own office, a practice that would allow him to express both his creativity and technical skills in a broader spectrum. His first commissions were jobs for friends, but word of mouth soon lead to other projects, and his office was a success.

After gaining considerable experience in Mexico City Sebastian, still eager to expand his architectural vocabulary, began to formulate a plan to work in Spain, and more specifically with the architect Toned Sunyer whose work he admired and respected.

After several trans-atlantic phone calls, and showing his work to the well-known architect, Sebastian and his wife and partner Maricarmen moved overseas where they lived for one year while Sebastian worked for Sunyer and was exposed to architecture on an international level.Once back In Mexico City, Sebastian worked on projects that included residential and commercial designs before heading up to San Diego where he began to contemplate development in addition to architecture. After working with architect Jonathan Segal for a number of years, he found a piece of land in downtown’s Little Italy, and began designing what was to become his award-winning home, a four-story contemporary building clad in redwood and stainless steel

When you began designing your house, what were some of the most important considerations and how did they impact the overall design?
The main thing was the lot size, 1550 sq.ft., after the subdivision 775 sq.ft. per house (25ft x 31ft.) then the program, my office and my house together and from there try to design simple and open space with logical structural and functional qualities.

Redwood and stainless steel are a unique and beautiful combination. Had you thought about this materials scheme sometime earlier and were saving it for the perfect project, or was it something that struck you as you were designing?
I like light materials, I feel it is a response to the light wood framing structure, the finishes only work as a skin, the redwood volume is where the livable spaces are and the stainless steel volume where the services are (stairs, bathrooms and kitchen) also with siding you can build the exterior and interior independently which is faster and more efficient.

What was the hardest lesson you learned when developing your first building? How hard is it, as an architect, to take that next step to becoming a developer? Obviously there are new complexities to deal with in terms of financing, permits etc. that affect you differently as a developer than as an architect.
A very positive lesson was to work everything together (budget, bank loan, construction costs, zoning req., program etc) that was a very good learning experience, which I started to learn at Jonathan's (Segal).

Sebastian has completed a number of multi-family housing projects, including a 24-unit structure in San Diego - The Billboard Lofts - as well as several residential projects in Mexico. He has been featured in Architecture and Dwell magazines and his house has been included in Inside 'MNM: Minimalist Interiors' by Nasple Jaume and Kyoko Asakura, see above inset (published by Harper Design International 2004.)

For more information on Sebastian and his firm MS-31, please visit his website.

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