Distinctive cultures

For Argentinian-born builder and developer Fernando Pagés Ruiz, building homes for recent immigrants paints the American dream with different colors as well as different cultural traditions — especially when it comes to adding features that make the new arrivals feel more at home in their new homes.

Early in his career, Ruiz started noticing that his Mexican clients in Los Angeles were renovating their newly built homes immediately after moving in. They were building walls around the property, creating the ubiquitous courtyards so familiar in the architecture of their heritage.

“They were ripping out carpeting and replacing it with tile,´ said Pagés…