Meet Maria Luisa Castellanos: Architect and Realtor

We had the good fortune of connecting with Maria Luisa Castellanos and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Maria Luisa, is there something you can share with us that those outside of the industry might not be aware of?
People think that providing plans or construction documents, which is what the industry calls plan, are easy to put together. This cannot be further from the truth. Plans are from different disciplines, the architect and various engineers. A normal project will have the architectural plan, the structural plans, the mechanical plans, which include plumbing and air-conditioning, and the electrical plans. If it is a commercial or institutional project, it will likely also have a civil engineer. So these different disciplines have to coordinate in order to have a successful project. Most clients have no idea how complicated this aspect can get. Then, there are the plans themselves that have to be detailed, and again, that can also be very complex and intricate. 

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
I am excited that I got my Realtor’s license. Now, I can not only help you remodel or add to your existing house, or design a new one for you, but I can also help you to get the right site for your project or purchase the right building that has possibilities for expansion. What’s special about my firm is that the client gets direct principal involvement. In a lot of firms, one the client signs the contract with the firm, the principal is not actively involved in the project itself. So this principal has to relay conversations with the client to his underlings. Sometimes the desires of the the clients get lost in conversation with the subordinates. In my firm, I am not only the principle but the project manager in charge of the project.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I think one of the coolest things to do is to ride around on the Metromover downtown. This gives you are ride that shows you the city about 30 feet about ground. So you get a completely different perspective from seeing the city at grown level, stuck in traffic. And the Metromover is pretty extensive. It goes from the Brickell Area where the financial district lies up thought downtown Miami to NE 14th Street. We could get off at the 10th Street station and walk around in that area and have lunch or dinner. You can’t come to Miami and not eat Cuban food, so I would take them to Versailles or La Carreta in Little Havana. I would give them a tour of three beautiful residential areas, Coral Gables, Key Biscayne, and Coconut Grove. I would have them walk around the Grove which is a very nice place to eat and shop. I would take them to eat at Moon Thai which is one of my favorite Thai restaurants in town. Lastly, I would take them to see the Kendall Campus of Miami Dade College, which is a fine example of Brutalist Architecture, and to South Beach to see the Art Deco District and take in the South Beach vibe.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Janet McAliley and the other members of the Miami-Dade County School Board back in the 1990’s when I was starting out, gave me a great opportunity of work on what was then Dade County Public School projects. Prior to 1990, no woman architect had ever done a project for Dade County Public Schools. So I am very grateful to the forward-thinking board who serves at that time. Janet and the board members who served then are all retired, and some are deceased, but I will always have a warm place in my heart for them.

Website: https://www.UnitedArchitectsInc.com
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marialuisacastellanos/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UnitedArchitects
Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/united-architects-coral-gables?osq=architects
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/MLCastellanos12/videos
Other: https://ezinearticles.com/expert/Maria_Luisa_Castellanos

Image Credits
Nuurs Ortiz for the first kitchen photo with the yellow chair in the background.