Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/193668
Tatiana BILBAO Growing up in Mexico City—one of the world's biggest, most chaotic cities—might explain Tatiana Bilbao's deeply held interest in the urban realm. Soon after graduating from architecture school, the now 41-year-old architect, recently profiled in a solo exhibition at Berlin's Architektur Galerie titled "Under Construction," went to work for Mexico City's urban housing and development department. Realizing political and economic realities made her job mostly a research post, she left to pursue traditional architectural design. "I thought it would be easier to intervene in the public sphere in private practice," explains Bilbao. She still approaches her designs, from houses to university buildings to exhibition spaces, with an eye towards the bigger picture of its surroundings—and runs an informal urban think tank with several other local architects. "I've always been interested in the intersection between public and private space," she says. "Every project we do, we try to think of how it impacts its surroundings." Some of Bilbao's projects present obvious opportunities for engaging the public realm, including a biotech university building in Monterrey and a botanical garden in Culiacán. But even a house she designed near Guadalajara makes connections beyond its walls—which happen to be made from concrete mixed with compacted earth dug from the site. "We didn't want to bring in materials from all over; we wanted to make the house part of the place," explains Bilbao. A house she designed with celebrated artist Gabriel Orozco was inspired by the astronomical constructions at the 18th century Jantar Mantar observatory in Jaipur, India (Orozco's idea), but Bilbao made sure it was executed with local materials and built by local craftsmen. Her portfolio is expanding, with three confidential projects starting construction in Europe, along with numerous commissions closer to home, including a pavilion at the Museo Tamayo in the Mexican capital and several houses in Monterrey and on the Pacific Coast near Acapulco. tatianabilbao.com CULTURED 93