Maria Del Rocio Mendoza Refosco
Project Manager/ Designer



Rocio was born and raised in Mendoza, Argentina. Raised by an architect and an engineer, she grew up on job sites and amidst blueprints, always curious and asking questions about construction. She decided to complement the skill set she had developed throughout her life with a formal education.

Architecture has always been her passion. The more she learned, the more she wanted to know. Rocio sees architecture as a lifestyle, not just a job. On any given day, you can find her enthusiastically discussing the characteristics of buildings with anyone who will listen. She is particularly passionate about modern and postmodern architecture, drawing inspiration from luminaries like Le Corbusier, Frank Lloyd Wright, Daniel Libeskind, and Zaha Hadid.

Rocio graduated in 2019 with a double major in Architecture and Urbanism from the University of Mendoza. Her studies encompassed not only the traditional exterior and interior aspects of buildings but also how spaces are experienced and lived in. During her last year of school, she completed a diploma in architectural phenomenology, a discipline that emphasizes human experience, background, intention, historical reflection, interpretation, and poetic considerations. She had the privilege of studying under the guidance of world-renowned architects, including Eliana Bormida, Luis Longhi, and Cristian Boza.

Rocio's first encounter with Tahoe was for skiing. She spent her college years working as a ski instructor in various countries, transitioning between hemispheres and living in winter for six years. After graduating and working in her home country as an independent architect and interior designer, her love for Tahoe drew her back to the United States. In 2022, she joined MWA, where she currently serves as a Project Manager/Designer.

In her free time, you can find her skiing, practicing various aerial arts, painting or traveling to new places in search of more inspiration and "cool buildings."


All Staff

It is my pleasure to commend Kurt Reinkens of MWA Associates/Architects to you. Our association with Kurt began in the spring of 2004. We had purchased a lot at Northstar in February, and soon after began the daunting task of finding both an architect and a builder. The search was especially stressful because it was time-sensitive....we were hoping to get plans drawn up and approved prior to the October 15th cutoff date for groundbreaking that year.

We interviewed a half-dozen architects and builders. Kurt was the clear choice of an architect in my mind. During our interview with hint, he asked all the “right” questions and asked them in such a way that we began to think creatively about all the possibilities for our new home. He was concise and to the point, being mindful of our time as we were of his. The decision was positively reinforced when we settled on a builder that Kurt personally recommended to us.

Since we were operating under some serious time constraints, Kurt worked with us to formulate a contract that coupled Kurt’s creativity and design ideas with the expertise of the MWA draftsmen/associates. Kurt gathered some data from us re: our “dream” house…. ideas ranging from the number of bedrooms we wanted to how we envisioned the traffic flow from room to room. Kurt visited our lot, took our “dream ideas” and quickly worked up a draft. With visuals in hand, it was relatively easy to pinpoint the aspects of the proposal that we liked and didn’t like. Kurt was open-minded and professional throughout this process....discussing different ways to accomplish some of our ideas.

We had asked Kurt to work quickly and within a budget and he was good to his word on both fronts. Once the creative pieces were in place (the quality that we most wanted to capture from Kurt), the draft was turned over to Kurt’s associates for the detail work. Plans were formulated in a timely manner and Kurt and his associates maintained ongoing communication with us as we worked through the minutia.

Since we had never designed or built a house before, it was difficult to ‘visualize’ the three- dimensional product. Kurt and his associates were responsive to our inquiries every step of the way. Kurt listened to questions or concerns, and offered an opinion – a trait we very much appreciated since he was the expert and we were first-timers. Sometimes we were swayed to Kurt’s opinion, sometimes he was swayed to ours, and sometimes - through discussion — we got to a different solution all together — a better solution because we all maintained open minds and open communication.

Throughout the 15 months of house construction, Kurt and his associates were available for consultation with the builder, as needed. Access to the right people, open communication, and mutual respect were all critical to the timely, professional construction of our home.
Kurt’s vision was translated into reality with our builder’s craftsmanship and building expertise and we are delighted with all aspects of the finished product.


-- Jan Coe
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