- Webinar 5
- Adaptive reuse, Architecture
In resource-constrained places, small can be powerful. How can a building, acting strategically as an acupunctural node, transform its neighbourhood socially, economically, and ecologically?
Buildings offer shelter. Good architecture does more: it is a form of care for the mind and spirit. So how do we ensure sustainable equitable care for everyone, all social and emotional needs included?
Tatiana Bilbao is a multi-award-winning architect from Mexico who, through her work, embraces the human condition. She views architecture as a sanctuary tailored to meet the physiological needs of individuals and groups, as well as their psychological and spiritual aspirations.
She founded her eponymous studio in 2004, wanting to explore how buildings can deliver care through a collaborative and participatory design process. Her portfolio includes today multiple scales and typologies, from homes to housing, museums to botanical gardens and urban planning.
00:09:08 | “One of the most kind of deep thoughts that rule the office — or that guide the office — is that each of us, every human being that inhabits this planet, is different.” |
00:09:48 | “I believe that architecture is a collective act… is a social collective act. And therefore, I believe in horizontal and wide collaborations.” |
00:12:23 | Architecture as ‘care for our bodies’ |
00:17:24 | “I think that, for me, always, I have had the understanding that architecture provides a basic form of care — care to our bodies […] So architecture is necessary to exist and to inhabit this planet; otherwise, we won’t survive.” |
00:21:27 | “I don’t think design should be thought to kind of materialise relationships. And I think that architecture or design or urban design should be much more those tools that create platforms for everyone to create their spaces, the spaces on earth — not literally […] But philosophically.” |
00:25:20 | “We really need to understand that we need to create equal opportunities and possibilities, but through the acknowledgement that each of us in this planet is very different.” |
00:25:32 | The Nature interface |
00:27:50 | “It’s never possible to think of one homogenising definition of anything. The concept of sustainability can be defined, but then the strategy and the application is very different. So what, somewhere, can look as a very sustainable project, in other places would not.” |
00:41:04 | “We are the planet […] We are part of this ecosystem. And architecture for me is a medium between that surrounding, that environment, and us — to allow us to exist in it.” |
00:50:15 | Becoming Tatiana |
00:51:36 | “I realised I not only have not advanced the possibility of women in society, but I have limited very much. I had been kind of a replicator of the patriarchal system by doing the architecture that I was doing without acknowledging that was reinforcing the patriarchal system — specifically around housing.” |
When architects discuss sustainability, some refer to long-standing principles of good design. They speak of a sustainable future in which human demands — defined in the broadest sense possible — are met first and foremost. Tatiana Bilbao agrees with them.
She is less preoccupied with quantitative metrics such as energy use — though these factor into her thinking as well. A more critical trigger is the social and psychological impact on occupants: how architecture might affect the quality of their lives and the vicissitudes they face.
Tatiana started her career in the government. At the time, she was seeking to shape policy and raise the yardsticks of the built environment. She quickly realised that policymakers are not immune to the capitalist onslaught she blames for an over-reliance on homogenised solutions which, more often than not, miss the mark.
In the practice she now leads, the human condition is unpacked early on in the design process. Sometimes these efforts target requisites unmet directly, but they can also be levelled at how needs are defined, ideologically or philosophically.
With the Acuña Housing Prototype (Coahuila, Mexico), for instance, Tatiana reassessed prevailing concepts about dwellings. The residential module she proposed can be adapted to fit urban and rural lifestyles or geographical, social and cultural provisions. The structure becomes a way to empower its users.
Many architects would worry that a participatory method might strip them of authorship. Not Tatiana. Architecture, she insists, cannot emerge from a single mind. Her work invites active engagement, promoting synergistic alliances with fellow architects, artists, craftsmen, economists, local authorities and the community.
That desire to challenge conventions also shows up on the drawing board. Instead of architectural renderings, she composes collages that loosely frame buildings and their contexts, defy expectations and leave room for interpretation.
Sparking the imagination upfront even sets the tone for constructive exchanges with clients. Case in point: the Botanical Garden in Culiacán (Sinaloa, Mexico), for which the studio recommended concrete for the on-site pavilions over bamboo, the eco-friendly material favoured by the client. In a region where scorching days are a regular occurrence, it would deliver higher energy efficiency in hermetically sealed and air-conditioned spaces.
Tatiana’s approach pays greater attention to the primary role of buildings as shelters than it does to many ‘undiscerning’ sustainability precepts.
The symbiotic relationship architecture shares with the natural world — and how it shapes the human experience — takes on many guises in her projects. The Research Centre of The Sea of Cortes in Mazatlán (Sinaloa, Mexico), for one, offers visitors a rare opportunity to immerse themselves in a porous grid of concrete walls and open-to-sky courtyards, overrun by the surrounding wild and luxuriant flora.
Tatiana is a passionate proponent of good architecture which, she believes, not only nourishes the soul but provides comfort and care. Good architecture is the foundation that allows green design to flourish. For her, sustainability means little if buildings can’t address first and foremost, fairly and equitably, the underlying human condition.
This episode is brought to you by:
The Holcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction The Holcim Foundation helps drive systemic change towards a more sustainable built environment. It was founded in 2003 to define and promote the key principles of sustainability for the construction sector and is committed to accelerating the sector’s transformation so that people and the planet can thrive. The Foundation has investigated various aspects of sustainable construction via a series of roundtables and conferences with international experts. It has also recognised excellent contributions to this field with the Holcim Awards which are considered the world’s most significant competition for sustainable design. Committed to a holistic approach that recognises the equal importance and interdependence of four key goals, the Foundation combines the collective knowledge, ideas, and solutions of our global community of experts with a recognised platform of international competitions to democratise thought leadership for the entire sector. |
This episode is brought to you by:
The Holcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction
The Holcim Foundation helps drive systemic change towards a more sustainable built environment. It was founded in 2003 to define and promote the key principles of sustainability for the construction sector and is committed to accelerating the sector’s transformation so that people and the planet can thrive.
The Foundation has investigated various aspects of sustainable construction via a series of roundtables and conferences with international experts. It has also recognised excellent contributions to this field with the Holcim Awards which are considered the world’s most significant competition for sustainable design.
Committed to a holistic approach that recognises the equal importance and interdependence of four key goals, the Foundation combines the collective knowledge, ideas, and solutions of our global community of experts with a recognised platform of international competitions to democratise thought leadership for the entire sector.
Tatiana Bilbao Spamer opened her eponymous studio in 2004 with the aim of integrating social values, collaboration and sensitive design approaches to architectural practice. The work of the office draws on research to better address the challenges of different reconstruction- or crisis- projects.
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. During this period she was part of the General Development Directorate of the Advisory Council for Urban Development in the City.
Bilbao holds a recurring teaching position at Yale University School of Architecture (US) and has taught at Harvard University Graduate School of Design (US), Architectural Association School of Architecture (UK), Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation (US), Rice University (US), University of Andrés Bello (Chile) and Peter Behrens School of Arts (Germany). Her work has been published in The New York Times and in a+u and Domus magazines, among others.
Bilbao was named Emerging Voice by the Architecture League of New York in 2010 and received the Großer Berliner Kunstpreis in 2012. She received the Global Award for Sustainable Architecture by the LOCUS Foundation in 2014, the Impact Award 2017 as an Architzier A+Awards Honorer Winner, the Marcus Prize 2019 and the Tau Sigma Delta Gold Medal in 2020. She was named an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada in 2021 and won the Richard Neutra Award for Professional Excellence in 2022 and the AW Architect of the Year 2022.
Two Sides of the Border: Reimagining the Region
Tatiana Bilbao Estudio
Edited by Tatiana Bilbao, Nile Greenberg, Ayesha S. Ghosh, in collaboration with Yale School of Architecture
English | 488 pages, 350 illustrations | Hardback | 2020
Published by Lars Müller Publishers
ISBN-13: 9783037786086
Tatiana Bilbao Estudio (The Architect’s Studio)
Edited by Mette Marie Kallehauge, Lærke Rydal Jørgensen, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art
English | 240 pages, 232 illustrations | Hardback | 2019
Published by Lars Müller Publishers
ISBN-13: 9783037786178
Landscape of Faith: Architectural Interventions along the Mexican Pilgrimage Route
Edited by Tatiana Bilbao Estudio
English, Spanish | 320 pages, 202 illustrations | Softcover | 2018
Published by Lars Müller Publishers
ISBN-13: 9783037786086
Perspectives | Tatiana Bilbao ESTUDIO
With texts by Patrick Charpenel, Simon Hartmann, Raymund Ryan, Gonzalo Ortega, Tatiana Bilbao
English | 256 pages | Softcover
Published by Arquine
ISBN-13: 9786079489281
If you heard it in this episode, we likely have a link for it right here. Click on any topics, people, buildings, places, products and/or technologies listed below to learn more about each of them.
00:05:35 | “…when Bilbao was falling to the Franco forces…” “Spanish Civil War” | Wikipedia |
00:42:30 | “…It’s a mural by Diego Rivera…” “Diego Rivera” | Britannica |
00:45:26 | “…I don’t know if you’re familiar with Geoffrey Bawa from Sri Lanka…” Geoffrey Bawa Trust |
00:45:30 | “…or Emilio Ambasz from Argentina…” EMILIO AMBASZ & Associates Inc. |
00:05:02 | “…He has many buildings in Bilbao…” “Bilbao” (Vizcaya, Basque Country, Spain) | Britannica |
00:28:16 | “…I can give you the example of the Botanical Garden…” “Botanical Garden” | Tatiana Bilbao ESTUDIO |
00:28:22 | “…that we have been doing for 18 years in Culiacán…” “Culiacán” (Sinaloa, Mexico) | Britannica |
00:38:31 | “…There’s another project of yours, the Research Center at Cortes…” “Research Center of The Sea of Cortes” | Tatiana Bilbao ESTUDIO |
00:45:26 | “…I don’t know if you’re familiar with Geoffrey Bawa from Sri Lanka…” “Sri Lanka” | Britannica |
00:45:30 | “…or Emilio Ambasz from Argentina…” “Argentina” | Britannica |
00:46:38 | “…if you look at one of his most famous projects like the Kandalama…” “The Kandalama Hotel: Geoffrey Bawa’s Architectural Masterpiece in Sri Lanka” | ArchEyes |
There are no design features mentioned in this episode.
There are no products or technologies mentioned in this episode.
Host
Nirmal Kishnani
Producer
Maxime Flores
Managing editor
Kruti Choksi
Communications executive
Sana Gupta
Sound technician and editor
Kelvin Brown | Phlogiston
You can follow us and share your views on
If you like this episode and want to hear more, head to one of these podcast directories
or other listening apps where you follow podcasts. There, you can listen to other Ecogradia episodes and write a review.
Better still, subscribe to our podcast today. Every new episode will be automatically downloaded on your chosen device, ready to be enjoyed offline, anytime, anywhere. And by doing so, you’ll be helping us produce even more great content.
Subscribe to our newsletter and be the first to know
Sign up to find out who’s next on the show, which ideas and solutions are moving sustainability forward. Get our newsletter in your inbox once every two weeks.
Recent podcast episodes
Recent blog posts
Before posting, please review our comment policy here.
Ecogradia is a new platform on sustainable architecture and urbanism. Here and on our podcast, you’ll find stories, ideas and solutions from thinkers and makers who are shaping a regenerative future, one blueprint at a time.
Contact us
Ecogradia Private Limited
2 Shenton Way
#15–04, SGX Centre I
Singapore 068804
Subscribe to our newsletter and be the first to know
Sign up to find out who’s next on the show, which ideas and solutions are moving sustainability forward. Get our newsletter in your inbox once every two weeks.
Recent podcast episodes
Recent blog posts
Contact us
Ecogradia Private Limited
2 Shenton Way
#15–04, SGX Centre I
Singapore 068804
Got a quick question or an idea to share? Maybe you’d like to recommend a guest or become a sponsor? Get in touch with us now by filling up the form below.
Sign up to find out who’s next on the show, which ideas and solutions are moving sustainability forward. Get our newsletter in your inbox once every two weeks.