Glocal 89 | Marina Leboreiro: Architecture as Shelter and Legacy

A Practice Born from Shelter

For Marina Leboreiro, architecture and interior design have not only been creative disciplines, but vital anchors. As co-founder of Faci Leboreiro alongside architect Carlos Faci, she has built a career in which inhabitable space is deeply connected to human experience.

At a time when interior design was just beginning to gain recognition in Mexico, Marina found in detail —from the design of a sink to the full experience of a space— an opportunity to build a studio with a voice of its own.

Motherhood, Architecture, and Resistance

One of the defining pillars of her career is her identity as a mother architect. For Marina, motherhood is not separate from professional practice, but a lens through which she understands space, time, and responsibility.

“People often ask me how I do it, and the truth is that blending both worlds is an achievement,” she shares. She also acknowledges a burden many women face in the field: “No man on a construction site is asked who is taking care of his children. We are.”

Faci Leboreiro: Intuition, Craft, and Growth

The story of Faci Leboreiro began intuitively, with limited resources, strong financial discipline, and a clear vision. What started as a practice focused on interiors grew into a studio with residential, corporate, and hospitality projects.

Over the course of 15 years, the studio has developed projects for companies such as ASICS, interventions at the Presidente InterContinental Mexico hotel in Polanco, and restaurants for Grupo Zeru. Its work is defined by the creation of sophisticated, functional, and deeply human experiences.

Leading Through Sensitivity

In recent projects, such as their work in Troncones, Guerrero, the boundary between architecture and interior design becomes increasingly fluid. “It is a very poetic project where we became more architectural. I love Mexico, I love the sun, and there we achieved a way of inhabiting that fills me with pride,” Marina explains.

Her contribution to the studio translates into a close and horizontal form of leadership. Through that sensitivity, empathy becomes a creative tool: a way of understanding clients, supporting the team, and shaping spaces with identity.

Craft, Independence, and Legacy

Marina speaks honestly about the difficult moments she has faced in her personal life. Through them, her career has been a source of support, refuge, and independence. “My economic independence was a true wonder during moments of crisis. Work is what makes me feel alive and happy.”

Her message to new generations of women architects is clear: do not abandon the craft. “Learn about drywall, painting, and construction. Immerse yourselves in the reality of space. New technologies make no sense without the foundation of the craft.”

Today, Marina Leboreiro reaffirms that architecture is more than a profession: it is a way of resisting, caring, building autonomy, and leaving a legacy.