Architect and designer Erik Loya grew up in Wichita’s North End, a predominantly Hispanic neighborhood. As a young boy, he never dreamed he’d be responsible for designing a building in the very neighborhood he grew up in. For this edition of “In the Mix”, Carla Eckels talks with Erik about creating architectural designs for the new Empower Camarena Adelante Center.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Erik, you grew up in Wichita’s North End, right?
Yes, I grew up in this neighborhood right off of 29th and Arkansas. My parents lived here, and my grandparents are still in the area.
Did you always know you wanted to be an architect?
Yes, ever since I was a kid. Actually, my dad worked in construction so growing up … I didn’t know what an architect was. I always thought I was going to be a construction worker until the fifth grade, when my AVID program at school took me on a field trip to Kansas State University. That’s when I discovered what an architect really was, and I fell in love with a lot of their projects — the pin-ups on the wall and the little scale models that they were modeled after — and I just never looked back since.
I know that this building, the Empower Camarena Adelante Center, near 21st and Park, used to be Basham’s Furniture store years ago, and now it's totally been transformed.
Yes, it's almost unrecognizable from what it once was. There's beautiful desert landscaping, Mexican terracotta breezeway block, and a ton of architectural features that are meant to light up the street and the neighborhood.
How did you get involved in this project?
I got involved when I began work at Hutton Construction. I was given this project or opportunity shortly after I started working there.
How does your cultural heritage influence your work?
My family is from Chihuahua, Mexico, and it's a predominantly desert landscape, so I draw a lot of my inspiration from the landscape, from the people and from the earth.
What specifically did you do to design this building?
As the lead designer of this project, what I did was help define the different elements that are going to tie this back to the community and Mexican culture. So, when we first began, we took trips all around the country, and we even went to Mexico and learned about their architecture — the different components that make up Mexican architecture — and we wanted to bring what was great and what worked in those places back to Wichita. I personally fell in love with the breezeway block and the different landscaping and nature elements.
The desert landscape draws attention to the building.
Yes, so that's the desert steel cactus. We wanted to add a touch of green to the building, sort of a softer edge, if you will. And really, being along 21st you'll notice that with the sun, the exposure the concrete, it didn't lend itself to natural landscaping. So, we wanted something that was sort of a zero escaped or zero maintenance, and that also looked beautiful. So, the vision was desert steel, and it ties back to the Mexican heritage and culture.
Share more about the creative process.
Yes, architecture, by nature, is a very iterative process. Iterative meaning the first answer is not always the final answer. So, we go through a lot of different options, some work, some don't. We try one, we try another, until we get it right. And that was very special and important for this particular project, where it meant so much to the community and so much to our clients that we get it right. The overall goal of the project has always been to reignite the North End, to create a spark in the neighborhood that will trickle throughout the whole street.
What was your parents' reaction when they first saw the Empower building?
My parents, being both immigrants, were very proud of me. I'm a first-generation college student, and seeing one of my projects in person has always been a great joy for them, but seeing one completed in the North End, where they lived, and where I grew up, was truly something special.
Did your grandparents see it too?
They did. I actually brought them to the grand opening, and they were just ecstatic.
What was it like when you first drove by, and this project was revealed? Describe your feelings as an architect.
Above the entry and the building, we have a screen that provides a backlit display. And it is sort of an homage to what our client told us they [wanted] to do, …[which was] to ignite the neighborhood. So, we saw this display or light as a beacon, a beacon for the neighborhood, their northern light, if you will. And that was my first impression of the building. I drove by at night when they were putting it up and seeing this, seeing this lit up screen, seeing the color on it, and the texture and the movement that it gave the street and the neighborhood was just wonderful, indescribable.
Did you ever dream that one day you will be the architect for one of the buildings in this area, in the North End?
I knew these streets very well, riding my bicycles up and down them, I could have never imagined seeing myself where I am today and having accomplished what I have.
The Empower building was Phase I. What’s next for you in Phase II?
The revitalization of the Nomar Theatre in the North End and the former Kroger building next to it.
