Maria Loreto Flores Associate Director B.Arch, M Arch AA

Profile
Chilean-born Maria Loreto joined ZHA in 2006 and has since worked on a diverse range of projects from competitions to direct commissions including Cairo Expo City, an office in Singapore, Gangnam Transport Hub in Seoul; and the built projects Pierres Vives in Montpellier, France, d’Leedon Residential Complex in Singapore, and the Morpheus Hotel in Macau, China.
With over 15 years of experience, she has developed a detailed knowledge of the inter-relationships between complex geometries, building design and construction, managing multi-disciplinary teams for projects in Asia, Europe and the Middle East. She has extensive experience liaising with clients, client representatives and various consultants on high-profile schemes around the world.
Currently, she is focused on the design and management of large-scale projects, masterplans and new districts of mixed use with about 1 million square meters.
She also has a key role in the development of new business opportunities in the Latin American market, leading competitions in the region for a public space masterplan in Santiago, Chile and a museum extension in Peru.
Before joining ZHA, she collaborated with practices in Chile and has been awarded several prizes in national architectural design competitions.

Education
Maria Loreto obtained a bachelor’s degree in Architecture from the Faculty of Architecture & Urbanism of Universidad de Chile.
She was awarded a master’s in Architecture and Urbanism Design Research Laboratory (DRL) from the Architectural Association in London.

Teaching
Maria Loreto has taught at workshops and design studios in Chile and the UK and she has been a visiting critic in architecture schools in Chile, Argentina, the UK and the US, including the Architectural Association, Bartlett School of Architecture in London and UNC Charlotte, North Carolina.
She has presented ZHA’s work in international conferences and institutions. She is also an advocate for Women in Architecture UK (WIA)

Publication
Her work has been published in AD Magazine, Collective Intelligence in Design edited by Chris Perry and Christopher Hight (2006) and Architextiles, edited by Mark Garcia (2006). Netlab, her thesis project, was awarded with the AA distinction, FEIDAD 2006 Design Merit Award and it has been widely exhibited and published.