Puerto Vallarta, Mexico - The HDK Project will open an exhibition entitled "Form Follows Funk," a sample of the work of Mexican Architect Luis Alberto Rodríguez Echeverría.

Originally from Mexico City, Luis Echeverria is a graduate of the Autonomous Metropolitan University Xochimilco campus. At 26 years of age, Echeverria has been honored with the opportunity to represent Mexico in the Third Beijing Biennale of Architecture, in Beijing, China. Since arriving in Puerto Vallarta Echeverria has sought to create avant-garde projects that add twists to existing theories.

Q: What is Form Follows Funk exposure?

A: Form Follows Funk is the result of a creative and theoretical process that embraces new methods for realizing architecture. The exhibition will present three projects illustrating this theory.

Q: What is the theory behind this Form Follows Funk?

A: Around the 1980s, with the whole question of modernism in architecture, there was a repetitive phrase used by the modernist architects of the time: "form follows function." The idea being that the shape of a building, whether it should be square, circular or rectangular, depended on the functions to be performed in the building.

But now, on the other side of the millennium, we have new technologies and manufacturing processes, so the intention with Form Follows Funk is to delete that part of the function. Not by forgetting it completely, but by opening the possibilities for new inspiration in design. This is very seductive to the artistic architect. Form Follows Funk enables us to create more visual, aesthetic, and harmonious designs without forgetting functionality.

Q: What are the three projects?

A: We will present three projects in three separate rooms representing two years' of work. The first is a bank called "So What?", which was inspired by Miles Davis' jazz music. The second room will house the project "Solarium," the newest and most experimental of the exhibits, a piece inspired by the waves on the sea. The last piece is a meditation space designed to allow one to sit in the perfect posture for meditation, without the back and knee pain associated with sitting for long periods.

Q: What inspired you to break out of conventional process and create more freely?

A: I am inspired by everything that happens daily. My creative inspiration for forms comes from a passion for music, from philosophy, and from other designers and respected teachers.

Q: Who is the show directed toward?

A: This exhibit is aimed at the general public as well as professionals. I hope it will allow people to see the art pieces as a creative process, as organic, and as a reference to nature as well.

Q: What do you want to achieve with Form Follows Funk?

A: I am trying to reformulate style on a theoretical basis, particularly with regard to some earlier styles and movements such as modernism and functionalism; rephrasing those theories to say, "Here is a new theory, a reformulation with respect to contemporary, with respect to new technologies, the use of new materials and new forms."

Q: Do you think that Puerto Vallarta is ready to receive work of this magnitude in public spaces?

A: I say yes. When we talk about public spaces, people always want to see something new. Architecture and function are matters of art. I believe the architect should even take a political role in relation to art in public spaces.

Many in Vallarta resisted the idea of the new Malecon, but it is a good space, and the city is beginning to embrace it. I would love to see a "So What" bench on the Malecon, a comfortable space for people to sit and enjoy the art work and the sea in all directions.

The exhibition Form Follows Funk opens to the public on February 4, 2012, at the HDK Project, at calle Guerrero 339, between Matamoros and Miramar. Admission is free.