Today we, the Lie Alonso twins, would like to honour our Architecture Professor Minoru Takatori who has just passed away.

He was the first to see the Lie Alonso brand before we ever could. For my (Valeria’s) graduation project, I chose to do an Embraer Praetor 600 (at the time called Legacy 500) private jet interior based on the Armani brand.

He was strongly against it, and argued I should instead create my own brand, “Why not Lie Alonso?” he would say; and I was frustrated when he didn’t give me a full score due to this even though I had put so much depth into research, analysis, design, renderings, and even the immaculate graphic design of the presentation and brochure.

It took years until I could understand why he was so emphatic on this, after I was ready to start working towards our own brand, which only happened after having a lot of experience throughout our careers internationally.

Despite his foresight, I also realise it was a necessary step for me to study the way an accomplished and elegant brand such as Armani is structured, which branches out in many segments of fashion to haute couture to interior design, in order to realise how we can set up our brand’s legacy beyond a linear path.

This is certainly an exercise that has helped expand my view, knowing that if the brands from the previous generations have grown so widely over decades, ours in the new generation has potential to go even farther.

This is why we have widened our perspective so far beyond what’s been done before. Architects of the New Golden Era is not a marketing term, but an anchor to the prophecy we are choosing to embody in this lifetime.

Professor Minoru, que descanse em paz no Eterno, e que nosso trabalho honre sua memória.

I remember loving his classes because he was a traditional architect, and taught us how to do projects by hand, how to draw, how to think of buildings, considering flow, gardens, human interaction, etc.

He showed his support for our work throughout the years by engaging with our content on social media, and I’m glad I sent him a message of appreciation a few years ago, so at least he knew how much we appreciate his teachings. 

May he find peace in the Eternal, and may our work honour his memory. 🙏🪬🐉🌹

Oṃ maṇi padme hūṃ

ॐ मणि पद्मे हूँ