COLORES, Latinos in Architecture’s sixth annual celebration of Latino culture, will take place October 1-3, 2025 at Architecture Center Houston and Kirksey Architecture, with conversations and presentations by Jesús Edmundo Robles, Jr., Assoc. AIA and Cade Manning Hayes, AIA, of DUST, AZ; Nadia Palacios Lauterbach, AIA, of Nadia Palacios architecture + interiors + landscape; Tony Diaz, El Librotraficante, Director of Nuestra Palabra: Latinos Having Their Say; Chef Emmanuel Chavez of TATEMÓ; a conversation and tour of the future home of the Houston Hispanic Research Center with the City of Houston, the Houston Public Library, Buffalo Bayou Partnership, and Brave/; Light bites by Avila Experiences; curated dinner by Chef Emmanuel Chavez of TATEMÓ Thursday evening ; performances by Danmar Academy of Performing Arts and a Mariachi quartet lead by Julian Corona-Medina.
Please consider becoming a sponsor of COLORES. A portion of the proceeds from this event will be donated to Architecture Center Houston’s Latinos in Architecture scholarship program, established by the AIA Houston Latinos in Architecture Committee in 2019. More information about the scholarship program may be found here.
Thursday, October 2, 5:30pm
An evening with Jesús Edmundo Robles, Jr., Assoc. AIA and Cade Manning Hayes, AIA, of DUST, AZ and Chef Emmanuel Chavez, of TATEMÓ; performances by Danmar Academy of Performing Arts and a Mariachi quartet led by Julian Corona-Medina. Curated dinner by Chef Emmanuel Chavez from TATEMÓ and appetizers by Avila Experiences. Drinks by The Little Taco Shop and dessert by Wonder Pops.
DUST, founded in 2007, is known for its focus on sustainable design, materiality, and creating buildings that are resilient, meaningful, and integrated with their natural and cultural environments. Jesús Edmundo Robles, Jr., Assoc. AIA and Cade Manning Hayes, AIA, will share their process of designing and building work through the understanding of, respect for and sensitivity to the spirit of place.
Born in Mexico City and raised in Houston, Chef Emmanuel Chavez spent his days after school helping to run his family’s Tex-Mex restaurant. Catching the restaurant bug, in 2015, he began a series of pop-up dinners around Houston. In 2016, Chavez relocated to Seattle to work under chefs Eric Rivera (Alinea) and Derek Simcik, named to Chicago’s 30 under 30. After a 3-year stint in Seattle, he returned to Houston to open his first restaurant, Tatemó. Tatemó was named a Finalist for the 2023 James Beard Foundation Award for Best New Restaurant and that same year, Chef Chavez was named to the Best New Chef class by Food & Wine. In 2024, Chef Chavez was named a Finalist for Best Chef: Texas by the James Beard Foundation and received a 2024 Michelin star.
Kirksey Architecture
6909 Portwest Dr
Houston, TX 77024
TICKETS CAN BE PURCHASED AT THE DOOR FOR THURSDAY.
Tickets for Friday’s tour can be purchased here.
About DUST
DUST is a collective of creative souls firmly grounded in the tactile, in pursuit of the intangible.
The studio explores ideas and ethics rooted in a reverent intimacy with craft and place. Ideas unfold in the creative space of intersections and find form through respect for nature, cultural histories, material, and our perceptions.
The seeds of this practice were planted in the late 1990s on the vast plains of the Llano Estacado in West Texas; the studio was born in Tucson, Arizona in 2007 as a collaboration between Cade Hayes and Jesús Robles and has grown to a team of nine, providing Architecture, Planning, and Construction services.
The work stands as both a concrete marker on the landscape, and as a frame focused on the essential, where ephemeral moments can find their place in the timeless realm of memory.
About Chef Emmanuel Cheavez
Chef Emmanuel Chavez is the visionary founder and culinary heart behind Tatemó, a Michelin‑starred tasting‑menu gem in Houston’s Spring Branch. Born in Mexico City and raised in Houston from age 10, Chavez grew up amid the rhythms of the Tex‑Mex restaurant his parents worked at — learning early how to chop, serve, and love food.
After a formative 3-year stint in Seattle, Chavez returned to Houston where he dove deep into the art of nixtamalization and respecting cultural roots, developing a passion for heirloom corn. That dedication drove him to grind 80 lbs of masa weekly, shape tortillas by hand, and build a menu where maize is both canvas and character.
Starting in Farmers Markets in 2020 and then opening a brick and mortar in early 2022, Tatemó quickly gained acclaim: National Finalist for the James Beard Best New Restaurant 2023 and Best Chef: Texas in 2024 and 2025, Food & Wine Best New Chef 2023, and a coveted Michelin star in Texas’ inaugural guide in 2024. Chef’s praise dishes like Mexico-City style fried quesadilla with caviar and Enmoladas featuring masa-tempura and mole — each plate a celebration of Mexican tradition and Texas terroir.
Chavez sees Tatemó as a cultural conversation starter—“not a Mexican restaurant, but a Houston restaurant” grounded in local Texas produce and immigrant ingenuity. His mission? Revive maize’s legacy, empower farmers, and bring artisanal corn forward—one tortilla at a time.
Latinos in Architecture COLORES Sponsors
Information about becoming a sponsor can be found here.
Platinum Sponsor
HOK
LESCO Architectural Lighting
Page
TATEMÓ
Gold Sponsors
Allegion
cre8 Architects
Gage Architecture
Kirksey Architecture
Silver Sponsors
C.A. Walking Construction
Durotech
GSMA
MACO Construction
Martinez Architects
MATRIX Structural
MWA Architects
Perkins&Will
Powers Brown Architecture
RDLR Architects
Bronze Sponsors
Bass Construction
Daltile
DBR Engineering
DOOR Engineering
IMEG
Raba Kistner
Tarkett
