Patrick Dillon Erbe

Patrick Dillon Erbe was born in the Republic of Panama in 1952. In 1970 he initiated his architectural studies in the United States, obtaining his Bachelor in Architecture (B. Arch.) from Arizona State University, in Phoenix, Arizona, in 1976. Starting in 1976 he continued his studies in architecture and urban design at Rice University, in Houston, Texas, and obtained his Master in Architecture (M. Arch.) in 1978.

Following his academic studies he entered the Taller de Arquitectura of Ricardo Bofill, in Barcelona, Spain, and during the ensuing ten years he collaborated in the design and construction of architectural, urban and landscaping projects in Spain, France, Italy, Algeria, Holland, the United States, Cameroon, Saudi Arabia, Morocco and Iraq, attaining the position of Design Director in the Paris office of the Taller in 1984. During this time he was an invited design professor at his alma mater, Rice University, and his work was included in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City and the Museum of Modern Art in San Francisco.

In 1988 he founded, with architect Jean de Gastines, the architectural and planning firm, Architectes Associés, in Paris, France. The principal focus of the firm’s work during the ensuing seven years was in the viticulture and tourism sectors, where they developed winery, spa, hotel and residential projects in France and South Africa. These projects were amply divulged in the media and several have been included in the permanent collection of the Georges Pompidou Museum of Modern Art, in Paris, France.

In 1995 he returned to Panama to join Dillon Construction, Inc., where he was responsible during the ensuing five years for the administration of civil construction projects, including the construction of deep foundations for the Panama Refinery expansion program in Bahia Las Minas in Colon, the reconstruction of the fiscal dock in Pedregal, in David, in the Province of Chiriqui, and the construction of the San Pablo Bridge in Soná, in the Province of Veraguas.

In 1999 he founded the architectural and planning firm ENSITU, S.A. (ESSA), of which he is the President and Legal Representative. Since its inception the firm has undertaken the design and execution of an ample array of projects for private and institutional clients in Panama, Europe and Central America. In addition, the firm collaborates as Executive Architect/ Engineer and planning consultant on a wide range of projects, in collaboration with national and international firms such as Gehry Partners, LLP, The Louis Berger Group, URBIO, S.A., Perkins+Will and Isthmian Construction Services, Inc.

Since 2008 he represents the Panamanian Society of Architects and Engineers (SPIA) on the Planning Board for the Districts of Soná and Mariato, in the Province of Veraguas, in western Panama.

In addition to his work as architect and planner, he is the Vice President and Secretary of the Earth School Foundation (Fundacion Colegio de la Tierra), a not for profit, non governmental organization dedicated to the development of rural secondary schools for low income students. He is also a board member of “Los del Patio”, a private organization that promotes the plastic and performing arts in Panama through the provision of space, resources, capacity- building and administrative support to projects of merit.