Oct 9th 2020

Productora: Being the Mountain Book Launch

On October 14 the College of Architecture will host Productora for its launch of "Being the Mountain," which examines the relationship between architecture and the ground it occupies. The book is the result of Productora’s research that was initiated when it was awarded the 2016 Mies Crown Hall Americas Prize for Emerging Practice.

Productora is a Mexico City-based architecture practice founded by Abel Perles, Carlos Bedoya, Victor Jaime, and Wonne Ickx, and designs a range of building typologies in Mexico and abroad. Its project Pavilion on the Zocalo, a winding, temporary wooden structure for which the firm received the MCHAP.emerge, represented Mexico City during the 2014 Culture Fair and, according to the firm, “addresse[d] the migrations that have influenced the development of Mexico City.”

Published by Illinois Institute of Technology’s College of Architecture and Actar Publishers, "Being the Mountain’s" richly illustrated contributions by Bedoya, Ickx, Frank Escher, Véronique Patteeuw, and Jesús Vassallo revisit significant moments in architectural history that cast new light on the techniques and legacies of modernism, especially in settings such as Mexico and California, where architects such as Ricardo Legorreta and John Lautner incorporated dramatic natural topography in their agendas.

This event will be a dynamic conversation between members from Productora, IIT Architecture students, MCHAP jury members, and contributing authors to the book. The talk will begin at 5 p.m. CST and is accessible via Zoom (use passcode the 265386 to enter). This event will also broadcast live at ArchDaily’s Facebook page.