From left: A site plan sketch and conceptual collage by Tatiana Bilbao for On Olive, the 3.5-acre residential development in midtown St. Louis. Images courtesy of Tatiana Bilbao ESTUDIO.
Anna Schewe & Caroline Schewe Visiting Lecture: Tatiana Bilbao
Tatiana Bilbao, founder of the Mexico City-based architecture studio Tatiana Bilbao ESTUDIO, will deliver the inaugural Anna Schewe & Caroline Schewe Visiting Lecture, presented in collaboration with the On Olive project. The event is free and open to the public, but registration is required.
Bilbao began her eponymous studio in 2004 with the aim of integrating social values, collaboration, and sensitive design approaches to architectural work. The work of the office intersects with research that facilitates design for diverse circumstances and in reconstruction or crisis scenarios. 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 and has taught at Harvard University GSD, AA 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 The New York Times, A + U, and Domus, among other outlets.
Bilbao has been recognized with the Kunstpreis Berlin in 2012, was named in 2010 as an Emerging Voice by the Architecture League of New York, and received the Global Award for Sustainable Architecture Prize by the LOCUS Foundation in 2014, the Impact Award 2017 Honorees for ArchitzierA + Awards, the Tau Sigma Delta Gold Medal of 2020, and the Marcus Prize Award 2019.
About the Studio
Tatiana Bilbao ESTUDIO is a Mexico City-based architecture studio, founded in 2004. At the core of the studio’s practice is an analysis of the context surrounding projects, which scale from master plans to affordable housing typologies. A goal of the work is to both contribute to its surroundings while remaining flexible to absorb shifting needs.
Tatiana Bilbao ESTUDIO pursues architecture through multidisciplinary perspectives. The studio promotes a collective environment with a diverse staff of architects, academics, and model makers. The working method uses hand drawing and iterative models to keep design and development rooted in spatial and not digital exploration. They elevate collaborations between other architects, artists, economists, local governments, and more, to enrich the impact and reach of each project.
The studio’s architectural work includes: the Culiacán Botanical Garden, the Pilgrimage Route in Jalisco, an institutional building on the UDEM campus, a research center of the Sea of Cortez, and a social housing prototype displayed at the 2015 Chicago Biennial that costs under $8,000 USD, among other projects. In 2019, Tatiana Bilbao ESTUDIO was the featured architecture firm in the Architect’s Studio series of exhibitions hosted by the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art. The studio has had work featured in the Graham Foundation, Chicago Architecture Biennial, Venice Biennale, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Monterrey, Museo Amparo, T-space Gallery, and Centre Pompidou to name a few.
View the Recording
Recording of Tatiana Bilbao’s lecture on February 22, 2022.