Michel Rojkind on the Social Responsibility of Design

Michel Rojkind, founder of Rojkind Arquitectos is known as one of
Mexico’s most successful architects. Projects like Foro Boca, a
stunning sea-side home to the Boca del Rio Philharmonic
Orchestra, or the Cinetecca Nacional that is home of arguably the
most important film heritage center in Latin America, Mexico’s
National Film Institute. Mercado Roma is a Mexican gastronomic
expression designed from the inside-out and bottom-up. And
finally, the Nestle Chocolate Museum immortalizes the telling of
Mexican chocolate history; all these spaces share a common
thread: utilizing space and architecture to have an impact on
their respective communities.


Michel’s ethos behind his work is what sets these projects
apart—the social responsibility that motivates their existence.
Long after his designs are realized, these spaces come into their
own, shaping the communities they reside in, with those same
communities shaping those very spaces, in a sort of unconscious
collaboration. As he puts it, it's the manifestation of making
that space for other things to happen.


But his success as an architect was not his first. Michel was the
drummer in the popular 90’s rock band Aleks Syntek y la Gente
Normal. He attributes a lot of his evolution as a creative to the
time spent touring through different cities. Experiences he
culminates into his approach to architecture. And, one might
assume that influence appears in his outputs, but as we
discovered in this conversation, it shows up far more in his
inputs—in how he collaborates, or “jams” as he calls it, with all
interested parties—like the proper rockstar he is.


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Design and the City, is a podcast produced by reSITE about the
ways we can use design to make cities more livable and lovable.
reSITE is a global non-profit and platform connecting people and
ideas to improve the urban environment. We work at the
intersection of architecture, urbanism, politics, culture, and
economics, acting as a catalyst for social action and innovative
leadership. We encourage the exchange of ideas about making
cities more livable, competitive, resilient, inclusive, mobile,
and designed with humans in mind to protect and public space,
architecture, and sustainable development in cities.


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This podcast was produced by Alexandra Siebenthal, with support
from Martin Barry, and Radka Ondrackova with the support of the
Czech Ministry of Culture and Nano Energies, and edited by
LittleBig Studio.