From the Series
Mexico City-based architecture and design studio Pedro&Juana was founded by Ana Paula Ruiz Galindo and Mecky Reuss; one Mexican and the other German. They like to mingle with people and places and experiment with textures, technology, craft, scale and colour. In this video interview the founders talk about their working process and the space they created for the Chicago Architecture Biennial.
For Pedro&Juana, the design process is very hands on: they learn as they make.
“We met in Los Angeles and worked for an artist in LA called Jorge Pardo,” explains Galindo. “So part of our schooling was not just architecture school but working in producing art, so maybe that helped us a bit to mix the skills and the way that we approach projects.”
For the inaugral Chicago Architecture Biennial, Pedro&Juana created a public space for people to come socialise, use wifi and relax. They named the space Randolph Square, the living room of the city.
Randolph Square consisted of rocking chairs, standing tables and customisable, suspended white lights.
“I think architecture is social by definition. It is a service,” says Galindo. “The public, the public arena – as in the city, as always been an important part of architecture.”
