Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
PORTRAIT OF INNOVATION: ERICK VALLE
MARTHA DAVIDSON
As a proponent and a practitioner of the New Urbanism—a town planning
movement that seeks to enhance community life through a revival of tra-
ditional principles and forms—the architect and urban designer Erick Valle
looks to the past, drawing on memories of the plazas and public spaces of
his native Costa Rica. As an innovator on the cutting edge of computer
applications for planning and design, he is a visionary with an eye on the
future.
Born in Costa Rica in 1961, Valle moved to Chicago with his parents
when he was 5 years old.Valle explains that his parents came to the United
States “to give the American Dream a shot” and that “both worked hard to
provide me with opportunities they did not have back at home,” having
come from “modest family backgrounds.” They chose Chicago because
that was where job opportunities and wages were greatest at that time;
Valle's aunts later joined them there.Valle's parents did not have other chil-
dren, and they devoted all their resources to giving their son a good start in
life.“My mother simply worked alongside my father to provide me with an
education and moral values,” Valle says.
Although he had no siblings,Valle grew up surrounded by cousins, both
in Chicago and in Costa Rica (where he spent many summers).“I remem-
ber the different little towns they lived in, going to the squares, looking at
the churches, visiting their schools. . . . And in Chicago . . . I walked to
school every day. I had a corner store where I got my candy in the morn-
ing.That's the kind of experience I remember....I have a very clear vision
in my mind of what these places are about. And my work has gone back to
that. It's a big circle.”
Even as a child,Valle was drawn to design. He distinctly remembers his
first set of blocks, which he used to build all kinds of objects. Later, as an
adult,Valle learned that one of his great uncles was an important architect
