He was born in Mexico City in the year 1928. After studying classical languages and philosophy, he obtained his bachelor’s degree in architecture from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). He began to work at Ricardo Robina’s office when he was still a student, from 1953 to 1956. Later, as a professional in his private practice, he won a bidding to design and build the dining and kitchen areas of the Instituto Francés de la Laguna, in Gómez Palacio, Durango. He completed this project between 1957 and 1960. He also built several houses and residences in Mexico City.

He gained considerable field experience by working at the Salvador Guerrero y Alonso company, during which time he built several hospitals in various states of Mexico, including the Farms for the Mentally Ill in Villahermosa, Tabasco (1961), and in Reyes Mantecón, Oaxaca (1962); Durango’s Regional Hospital (1963); a health care centre in Pátzcuaro (1964), among others.

In 1965, he founded the Teca S.A. company, with which, together with his associates, he built Tijuana’s InternationalAirport, between 1965 and 1967; the Autopsy Section and the Dining Area of the Institute of Livestock Research, in Palo Alto, Mexico City, in 1967; the residence of Mr Rodolfo Choperena, located on Paseo de la Reforma, between 1965 and 1967. In 1968, he took up his post as Director of Historical Monuments at INAH. In those days, he led restoration and maintenance projects at the grand Conventos Mendicantes built in the 16th century, such as Alcoman, Actopan, Epazoyucan, Tlaxcala, Cuauhtinchan, Huexotzingo or Churubusco, in addition to organizing and leading important projects aimed at rescuing the gypsum kilns of Tlacochahuaya, Oaxaca; the façade of San Felipe Neri el Nuevo, in Mexico City; Cortés’s Castle-Palace, in Cuernavaca, Morelos; and he also led the first stage of the National Palace project. In 1974, he was appointed as Director of the Churubusco Centre, a centre engaged in research and restoration, including training intended for restorers, sponsored by the Mexican Government, UNESCO and OAE.

During his tenure, he organized and led groups of students and professors with the aim of rescuing Cacaxtla’s Murals, and those of Xoxoteco’s Chapel, and also with the aim of restoring the Ánimas de Cristobal de Villalpando work of art, in Tuxpan, Michoacán; the 7000 objects found in the excavations of the Templo Mayor, a restoration project of which he was the director. As a consultant working for UNESCO and OAE, he has participated in several missions to various countries of the American Continent, such as Santo Domingo, Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, Guatemala, Jamaica, Cuba, the United States and Canada, where he has collaborated as consultant in restoration projects and programmes intended to train museographers and restorers.

He has been a professor at UNAM since 1953, teaching courses such as descriptive geometry, stereotomy, history of architecture, and theory of monument restoration. He has also been a guest professor at several universities in other countries and Mexican states. Today, he is a corresponding member of Madrid’s Royal San Fernando Academy; member of the National Architecture Academy and the Mexican Architecture Academy; member of Mexico’s National System of Researchers (1985), where he has recorded more than 150 publications including books, articles and learning packages used in the courses given by him. He has been a full-time professor since 1985, and the coordinator of doctorate courses given by the Faculty of Architecture. His current research focuses on Mexican architecture and urbanism in the 16th century, as well as literature on architecture.

He is also an Emeritus Professor at the University of Guanajuato (1987) and UNAM (1989). In 1990, he was awarded the UNAM Prize for Architecture and Design. He has been a member of UNAM’s Governing Board since 1990. In 1995, the MexicanArchitectureAcademy declared him Emeritus Member, and presented him with the Annual Architecture Award.