Tatiana Bilbao Discusses Social Architecture in New Short Film

Tatiana Bilbao Social Architecture — *Photo © PLANE–SITE*

Tatiano Bilbao — The peak-roofed living pavilion is clad in mirrored glass.

*Photo © Rory Gardiner*

Architects & Firms

Mexican architect Tatiana Bilbao is the subject of a new video by PLANE—SITE for the series “Time-Space-Existence,” commissioned by the GAA Foundation and funded by the European Cultural Centre. The short film—along with other episodes, each featuring a prominent or emerging architect discussing his or her design philosophy—was made in anticipation of the “Time-Space-Existence” exhibition at the Venice Architecture Biennale this May. The exhibit, which will be on view at Palazzo Bembo, Palazzo Mora, and Giardini Marinaressa, will highlight an international selection of architects and their ideas on the concepts of time, space, and existence.

Bilbao, who started her own practice in Mexico City in 2004, focuses her work around the social elements of architecture. Prior to starting her namesake firm in 2004, the architect conducted research for the city’s Urban House and Development Department. At the inaugural Chicago Architecture Biennial in 2015, she exhibited a low-cost, modular prototype for social housing, which has been put to the test in Ciudad Acuña, a suburb near the Texas border. Other significant projects include Casa Ventura, a sprawling, one-level house built into the mountains outside Monterrey, Mexico; a mirrored glass-clad vacation house, also in Monterrey, called Los Terrenos; and a residence for the artist Gabriel Orozco. In the film, Bilbao discusses the importance of positively enhancing lives through the built environment, and the social and sustainable significance of using hand labor and raw, local materials. “It’s not about the form or the shape of the building, it’s about what it does to people,” she says.

Episodes of “Time-Space-Existence” will be released incrementally until the Venice Biennale. Other subjects of the series include Denise Scott-Brown, Peter Eisenman, Meinhard von Gerkan, WOHA, Curt Fentress, Dirk Hebel, and Arata Isozaki. In addition, the exhibition will also feature work by Kengo Kuma and Daniel Libeskind.

Tatiana Bilbao – TIME SPACE EXISTENCE from PLANE—SITE

Alex was an associate editor at Architectural Record. Prior to joining the magazine, she worked in marketing and communications for New York–based architecture firms. Her writing has appeared in the Architect’s Newspaper and CityLab. Alex holds a master’s degree in design criticism from the School of Visual Arts and a bachelor’s degree from Cornell University.