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in Costa Rica who had designed the main railroad station in San José, as
well as other civic buildings.
When Valle was 16, his family moved to Florida. His father, a second-
generation printer, started a business in Miami.Valle began assisting in the
print shop as a summer job. By 1979, when he was 18, he was the com-
pany's graphic designer. But the move to Florida was not an easy one for
Valle. “Miami was a shock after Chicago because it was less urban.There is
a museum of science, but it's nothing like the Museum of Science and
Industry in Chicago. There are little art galleries around, but you don't
have art centers like you do in Chicago....Certain experiences weren't
there any more.”Valle did learn to appreciate Miami's open spaces, but he
remains at heart an advocate of more traditional urban environments, with
the cultural and social opportunities they offer.
Another experience when he was 18 affected Valle profoundly: “I had a
close tragedy that changed my outlook on life. I was diagnosed with can-
cer in my arm and it was going to be amputated. After lots of praying and
two long operations, my arm was saved. More importantly, since I lived in
the hospital for several months and saw all my bed fellows die, I do not take
life for granted. I am clearly self-motivated because I know how valuable
life is and how short a time we have in this world. I believe an individual
can make a difference.”
After his recovery, Valle attended Miami-Dade Community College
before enrolling in the University of Florida, where he earned a Bachelor
of Design degree in 1984. While an undergraduate, Valle worked as an
intern in the offices of several Miami architects, drafting and making pres-
entation drawings for building projects. The hours spent bending over
drafting tables were difficult and led to another discovery: “I started realiz-
ing I had a real problem with my back. I couldn't be leaning over all the
time on those drafting tables. . . . It was around 1982, that time when com-
puters were just beginning to be used, and I saw [computer technology] as
an alternative for me to be able to continue in what I was doing. Like
everything else, I took it on like a passion. . . . As technology evolved, it
became my palette for expression and exploration.”
He continued his training at the University of Miami's School of Archi-
tecture (UMSA), receiving a Bachelor of Architecture degree in 1986. At
UMSA he pursued a course of independent study, investigating aspects of
design that particularly interested him. He quickly developed expertise in
