Tatiana Bilbao

From Stories to Spaces

“To find new ways of living that could allow any person on the planet to exist with dignity.”

Architect Tatiana Bilbao opened her eponymous studio in 2004 with the aim of integrating social values, collaboration, and sensitive design approaches to architectural work. Prior to founding her firm, Bilbao was an advisor in the Ministry of Development and Housing of the Government of the Federal District of Mexico City, and during this period she was part of the General Development Directorate of the Advisory Council for Urban Development in the city.

Cumbaya, Ecuador, Tatiana Bilbao ESTUDIO 2018, © Tatiana Bilbao ESTUDIO

Her studio’s work intersects with research leading to design for diverse circumstances and in reconstruction or crisis scenarios. At the core of the studio’s practice is an analysis of the context surrounding projects, which range from masterplans to affordable housing typologies. The work’s goal is to both contribute to its surroundings while remaining flexible to absorb shifting needs.

 Bilbao holds a recurring teaching position at Yale University School of Architecture and has taught at Harvard University Graduate School of Design, the Architectural Association in London, Columbia University GSAPP, Rice University, University of Andrés Bello in Chile, and Peter Behrens School of Arts at HS Dusseldorf in Germany. Her work has been published in periodical including The New York Times, A + U, and Domus. Bilbao was recognized with the Kunstpreis Berlin in 2012 and was named as an Emerging Voice by the Architecture League of New York in 2010. She also won the Global Award for Sustainable Architecture Prize by the LOCUS Foundation in 2014, as well as the Impact Award 2017 Honorees for Architizer A + Awards, Tau Sigma Delta Gold Medal of 2020, and the Marcus Prize Award in 2019.

 

Research Center for the Sea of Cortez in Mazatlán, Sinaloa, México, Collage by Tatiana Bilbao ESTUDIO

 

Bilbao says, “The place that we inhabit, the home, the house, the apartment, housing—whichever the name or form—the physical space that protects us and allow us to exist is no doubt the most fundamental space in our lives.”

“Our current mode of living imposes a life on the majority of the population that prevents them from having a space that actually allows them to exist. As architects, we urgently need to produce the necessary questions, so that as a society we are able to find new ways of living that could allow any person on the planet to exist with dignity. I believe it’s through different methods of thinking, writing, drawing, and doing that we can achieve this.”

Edificio Roble, Arboleda, San Pedro Garza Garcia, Nuevo Leon, Mexico, Tatiana Bilbao ESTUDIO 2017, @ Tatiana Bilbao ESTUDIO

 

As a mentor, Bilbao is looking to work with any person interested in the way we inhabit this planet “and is willing to believe that it is possible to become the Other in order to imagine how we can dwell in the future.”

“We will think, draw, cut, paste, glue, add, extract, abstract—but mostly, think. Imagine, create. In the words of Mies van der Rohe, “The house of our time does not exist, nevertheless, the evolution on the way we live demands its realization.” (Die Form nº7, June 1931)

tatianabilbao.com

Watch the video statement to find out more about what Bilbao is looking for in applications:

Nominees

Yasmin Schönmann

The Other Space

The pandemic kept most of us in one space where we live, work, and digitally connect to others. But most urban spaces weren’t designed for such multipurpose use. Video artist and dancer Yasmin Schönmann’s project looks at alternative strands such as off-grid living, Tiny Houses, Minimalism, and Earthships to ask what would we design for ourselves, given the choice. “My personal utopian vision includes living in harmony with nature among an inclusive community using sustainable building materials and possessing only what you really need.” But what would it take to turn this dream into reality?
Find out more

Luísa Sol

Architecture of Inclusion and Exclusion

Screen-based images of domestic architecture are omnipresent, and constitute a historical legacy of how the field is represented over time: its dreams and fantasies, but also its stereotypes, discrepancies, inequalities, and segregations. Considering the onscreen image as a space of fiction that’s also a testament to what it omits, architect Luísa Sol proposes an atlas of the audiovisual imaginary of domestic architecture. Architectures of Inclusion and Exclusion would enable the detection of underrepresentations, while also formulating a demand for a wider narration of architecture. Find out more

Sarah Oberrauch

Playground Stories

Curator and educator Sarah Oberrauch’s proposal is an imaginative playground that would stimulate children's creativity rather than include objects meant for directed use. Oberrauch plans to work together with children to develop a playground with, rather than for, kids. In the first phase, she will make multifunctional and modifiable play objects that will help her observe the subversive potential of play. Her goal is to funnel excessive energy into socially bonding activities to foster a feeling of community, and create an environment in which kids and adults can experience thier bodies both in movements choreographed by its usage, and in thrilling loss of control. Find out more

Mentee

Architectures of Inclusion and Exclusion

Luísa Sol

Mentors Edition 6

Tatiana Bilbao

From Stories to Spaces

Francesca Bria

Data Democracy and the Green Transition

Sofia Jernberg

Sound as Organized Time

Ulli Lust

Translating Sensations

Mathilde Monnier

Unlimited Gestures

Emeka Ogboh

Sensing the World