Artist Pedro Reyes and architect Jose Castillo discussed Museo Tamayo’s Museum as Hub presentation “Tlatelolco and the localized negotiation of future imaginaries.” Tlatelolco has been a significant cultural site since the Aztec period, closely identified in the twentieth century with modernist urban planning ambitions in Mexico and student demonstrations and killings at the time of the Olympics in 1968. A site rich in the complex layering of constructed histories that define contemporary Mexico, and a current active context for cultural production, Tlatelolco inspires consideration of the construction of future possibilities for Mexico as it looks to define its place within an increasingly globalized world.

Jose Castillo is a practicing architect and urban planner living and working in Mexico City. With Saidee Springall, Castillo is founder of arquitectura 911sc, an independent architectural and urban practice. Among their realized projects are the SA236 housing complex and the JS32 offices, as well as the Horacio 935 townhouses (with Isaac Broid) in Mexico City. Currently they are building projects for the expansion of the Spanish Cultural Center in the Historic Center of Mexico City (with Javier Sanchez), and the new campus for the CEDIM (School of Architecture and Design) in Monterrey with Fernanda Canales. Castillo has organized various exhibitions, including “Mexico City Dialogues: New Architectural Practices,” Center for Architecture, New York; “Tourism is Life,” Rotterdam Architecture Biennial; “Living the (Mega)City,” São Paulo Biennial; “Mexico City: The space of potentiality,” 2006 Venice Biennial; and “Mexico City EAST: Territories of Growth,” Canary Islands Biennial.

Castillo’s work, research and writings have appeared in several international publications including Praxis Journal, Bomb, Arquine, Architectural Record, 2G, and Domus as well as in forthcoming books by Phaidon and Gustavo Gili. He is a professor at the Universidad Iberoamericana’s School of Architecture in Mexico City and at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Design.

Pedro Reyes works within a complex system of associations that defies assumptions about how knowledge is divided and legitimized. Using simple means and casual scenarios, he manages to blend the realms of utopia and function, individual fantasies and collective aspirations. Trained as an architect, his projects convey an underlying interest in structural design and building principles. However, this presence goes beyond the formal aspects of architecture; in his practice, the utilization of space is infused with symbolic as well as physical schemes to enhance human communication and creativity. He explores the ways in which a space allows individual moments of liberation or activate the interaction between a group of people. With these ideas in mind, he has developed an arsenal of terms and forms to release creativity from ordinary limitations. Reyes is an idealist; he lives and works thinking of ways to improve the world. Recent exhibitions include: “Principles of Social Topology,” Yvon Lambert Gallery, New York (2007); “Recyclone,” Aspen Art Museum (2006); Capula XVI & Capula XVII (obolo a & b) / Evolving City Wall Mural, Seattle Art Museum (2006); “Ad Usum: To Be Used,” Carpenter Center, Harvard University, Cambridge (2006);  and “Dream Digestor,” Arnolfini, Bristol (2005). He lives and works in Mexico City.