Published in the German Architecture Annual 2022 © DOM Publishers
› 2022, contribution to the German Architecture Annual 2022.
› I was invited to write an architectural review for the project «Casa Hilo» by the German-Mexican architect duo Zeller & Moye. The article was featured in the German Architecture Yearbook 2022, published by the Deutsches Architekturmuseum (DAM).
The full text is available in the section «Learning from Mexico». An excerpt is presented here.
Published in the German Architecture Annual 2022, edited by Deutsches Architekturmuseum and Y. Förster, C. Gräwe and P. C. Schmal, by DOM Publishers.
Text extract:
The architects have not reinvented anything; rather they have looked to tried-and-tested practices and considered them in a new way. Like in many other places in Mexico, the residential buildings in Colima are self builds in rural areas. The architects produced the idea to create a modular architecture that would see the future homeowners arrange and adapt the building volumes themselves and largely build them by hand. It is a highly flexible modular system that can respond to any property and its context in terms of shape and orientation. This logical model for growth and adaptation is implemented in simple geometries and local building materials. Building owners also benefit from various elements for the outdoor area, including seating, a stove, and a water basin.
The well-thought-out concept was ready for use in 2017. However, the clock was ticking in Mexico for state projects after the election campaign. The next presidential elections were scheduled for 2018, and it was vital to implement the residential typologies that were developed into prototypes as quickly as possible. Without further ado, the strategy was changed. Instead of building test houses in each region, the decision was made to build the design by Zeller & Moye as well as another 31 designs from national and international architects in a Lego-like arrangement next to one another on a test site in the village of Apan, about 90 kilometres northeast of Mexico City.
› 2022, contribution to the German Architecture Annual 2022.
› I was invited to write an architectural review for the project «Casa Hilo» by the German-Mexican architect duo Zeller & Moye. The article was featured in the German Architecture Yearbook 2022, published by the Deutsches Architekturmuseum (DAM).
The full text is available in the section «Learning from Mexico». An excerpt is presented here.
Published in the German Architecture Annual 2022, edited by Deutsches Architekturmuseum and Y. Förster, C. Gräwe and P. C. Schmal, by DOM Publishers.
