Pieces of Home: Exploring Materials of Mexico

How can we design in symbiosis with our local environments to shape the homes of tomorrow? 

Orange, squared brick placed in pile of orange soil
Line showing the process of how to make a small bowl out of rambutan
Brown bowls, vases and plates made of rambutan standing next to each other on a light grey background
Dried leaves of corn laying between bowls made of dried corn leaves on a light grey background
Brown desert under blue sky
A rug made of dried tamarind on a light grey floor partly rolled out. A small pile of dried tamarind laying next to the rug
A close up of a beehive
Pieces of Home: Exploring Materials of Mexico

How can we design in symbiosis with our local environments to shape the homes of tomorrow? 

We invited five designers in Mexico to explore local materials that better represent people, land, culture, and craft.

The pandemic exposed considerable flaws in our global supply chain. Paired with a growing climate emergency, we need to re-examine the unsustainable ways we manufacture and move goods around the world, and find creative ways to build future homes.

Designing for local contexts

To explore these new paths, we reached out to five material designers: Paloma Morán Palomar, Taina Campos, Karen Kerstin Poulain, Bertín López, and Gabriel Calvillo. As part of our Mexico City Pop-Up and in collaboration with Ma-tt-er and Biology Studio, the five designers prompted us to look at the abundant soil beneath our feet, at precious native beeswax, and the opportunities in material waste from fruit and vegetable harvests to imagine better ways of making.

Following six weeks of intensive research, prototyping, and experimentation, we presented the resulting projects in the exhibition, Pieces of Home. The exhibition received an honourable mention in the LATAM and Materials categories in Fast Company’s 2022 Innovation by Design Awards. Following the pop-up, the exhibition continued on a nationwide tour to venues including Museo Franz Mayer, Casa UC, ITESO Galería Universitaria, and Pad Jalisco.

Scaling change

From structural walls to objects that preserve and enable nourishment, the designs invite us to consider how we can design, make, and build our homes and everyday objects in connection with land, culture and time — and in regenerative ways. They provide inspiration for people to explore these questions and possible outcomes in their context, paving the way for new materials and local ventures to emerge around the globe.

Year
  • 2022

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