In contrast to his father's inspirations, young Mario was influenced by Mexican Modern Architects such as Luis Barragán, Max Cetto, and Mario Pani. In terms of landscape design, Schjetnan was drawn towards the works of Luis Barragán, Roberto Burle Marx and Lawrence Halprin. He was also interested in the revolution and work of leftist artists such as Diego Rivera, José Clemente Orozco, and Juan O'Gorman. Shortly after his graduation from UNAM, the events surrounding May 1968 in Paris and the Tlatelolco massacre in Mexico City inspired Shjetnan to design for social needs at the INFONAVIT (Mexico's federal institute for workers' housing). Now with over 40 years of experience in his firm, "ecology is increasingly becoming the organizing principle of his work." He is now inspired by architects such as Renzo Piano, Tadao Ando and Norman Foster in addition to environmental artists such as Doug Hollis, Richard Long, and James Turrel.