When a 7.1-magnitude earthquake shook Mexico City on September 19, architects at the office of Ambrosi Etchegaray were already working as part of a multidisciplinary team helping to rebuild the Unión Hidalgo community, one of the areas along Mexico’s southern Pacific coast most affected by an 8.1-magnitude quake earlier that month. The studio, which is located in Condesa, a stylish Mexico City neighborhood that was one of the hardest hit by the second quake, is now working with several institutions on plans for repairing significant historic buildings throughout the capital as well.

"We were busy, but you find the time,” says Gabriela Etchegaray, 33, who, with Jorge Ambrosi, 40, founded the studio in 2011. Even with more work, Ambrosi and Etchegaray prefer to have fewer than a dozen staff, allowing the office to be nimble and collaborative. A steady stream of residential projects, largely led by Ambrosi, make it financially possible for the team to take on smaller-scale work that explores different programs and materials.