Community Is Now With Michel Rojkind

Community Is Now With Michel Rojkind

Community is now. It is not a projection in the future. What are we doing with all the information we are receiving in our day to day? What happened during the pandemic and how does it affect the way we show up in the world? What did we learn in that process? What are we focusing on? What’s our purpose?

"We have to take off the blindfold, and truly see," argues Michel Rojkind, Founding Principal of the A+Award-winning Mexican firm Rojkind Arquitectos, who will present his ideas on community-based architecture. Rojkind posits that we must have more awareness and understanding of what we have been working on, and ask ourselves: Are we part of the problem or are we part of the solution? Rojkind will lay out the case for creating a positive impact in the community by challenging the program, reformulating the questions, and creating added value for all as a result of our designs.

"Collaboration implies that you are open and receptive to ideas, and that ideas from different minds come together for the best result. That’s the beauty of the process: You learn to see things in different perspectives That’s what true collaboration is all about," says Rojkind.

By attending this talk, you’ll learn:

• Architecture is a political act. Design is constantly shaping the world we live in, and every decision is political.
• Architecture is interdisciplinary. The value of different minds coming together for customized outcomes that make better projects for their communities and the planet.
• Sustainability is not enough anymore. There is nothing to sustain. We need to think of regenerative solutions that create a new path for enhanced interrelationship with our planet.
• “Walk the talk" showing not only what we do, but how we do it. The philosophy of our methodology applied to our projects and their coherence to who we are.

About Michel Rojkind

Michel Rojkind studied Architecture and Urban Planning at the Universidad Iberoamericana (1989-1994), and is a member of the National Academy of Architecture and the National System of Creators (FONCA). In 2002, he established Rojkind Arquitectos, a Mexico City-based creative studio for design, business tactics, and experiential innovation processes. His firm creates urban strategies and architectural solutions that transform contemporary challenges into design opportunities. His team creates personalized experiences for each client and users by collaborating with specialists from all fields.

He has been visiting professor at La IACC in Barcelona, ​​​​at SCI-Arc, UPenn and Harvard. Rojkind has served as a member of the jury for multiple international awards and has delivered lectures around the globe. His work has been featured in numerous books and magazines internationally.

"We generate strategies that enhance the design's final outcome; current proposals must maximize their potential, provide added value, and contribute to society."

About Paul Keskeys

Paul Keskeys is Editor in Chief at Architizer. An architect-trained editor, writer and content creator, Paul graduated from UCL and the University of Edinburgh, gaining an MArch in Architectural Design with distinction. Paul has spoken about the art of architecture and storytelling at many national industry events, including AIANY, NeoCon, KBIS, the Future NOW Symposium, the Young Architect Conference and NYCxDesign. As well as hundreds of editorial publications on Architizer, Paul has also had features published in Architectural Digest, PIN—UP Magazine, Archinect, Aesthetica Magazine and PUBLIC Journal.