20 Questions With Emilio Cabrero

5 min read or 40 min watch Emilio Cabrero is a Mexican architect, designer, and curator. He is the Managing Director of Mexico Territorio Creativo (Mexico Creative Territory) and Design Week Mexico, an organization that promotes and contributes to the Mexican design scene through creative collaboration and hosts a design event that brings all aspects of design and architecture to the forefront of Mexico City. He is also a founding partner of C Cubica Arquitectos, director of Mexico City World Design Capital 2018, co-founder and creative director of Blend Design, founder of Artelinea, member of the Board of Directors of the Museum of Modern Art and founder of the Tamayo Project.

Civic Design Center is celebrating our 20 Year Anniversary with 20 Questions from some fellow advocates and idols.

This is a screenshot of Gary Gaston interviewing Emilio Cabrero on Instagram Live

The following interview is an edited and distilled version of the live interview that was held on May 26, 2021 at 3:30 pm central. You can view the full 40 minute interview on IGTV.

“When we started working on the theme for the World Design Capital and taking on the challenges that Mexico City faces, we thought it was important to go for a model that creates opportunities for people through design. We wanted to preserve what was valuable while embracing change.”

What city or town do you call home?

Mexico City. It's a giant city. It's the third largest city in the world with about 20 million people. There are two parts of the city: one is very modern and avant garde, and the other is in need of many improvements and projects to raise the quality of life. In the 20th century many colonial towns became a part of the metropolitan area, so there is a blend of contemporary and colonial areas. It has all of the common challenges that huge urban centers are facing nowadays; affordable housing, transportation, gentrification, lack of services, water issues, etc.

We have discussed how Mexico City is perceived by Americans versus the reality. Can you tell us more about that?

It has a lot to do with TV. When I was younger people associated Mexico with Speedy Gonzales, now it’s Narcos. Misconceptions come because people haven’t visited. Coming to Nashville was a huge surprise for me. Now that we can travel again, I encourage everyone to visit Mexico, and for people watching in Mexico, visit Nashville. We even share the same time zone!

What does health and wellness in communities mean to you?

I think health and wellness should mean inclusion. No matter what a person’s skin color, sexual orientation, or economic level is, they should all be able to have affordable health and wellness services provided to them. With this pandemic, this is one of our greatest challenges. How can we make the health system reachable for everybody?

What city, in your opinion, inspires wellness for all? Why is that? Lifestyle? Infrastructure? Access to something special?

Copenhagen and Helsinki have a very integrated system of community services and health services that are accessible. We should learn from them.

We have discussed socially responsible and socially conscious design a lot. Where do you think that fits in with wellness in communities right now?

When we started working on the theme for the World Design Capital and taking on the challenges that Mexico City faces, we thought it was important to go for a model that creates opportunities for people through design. We wanted to preserve what was valuable while embracing change. For us, social responsible design meant working with different communities, including the artisan community, which is an important tradition in Mexico. We focus on the environment, clean energy, and responsible pay when we consider our design.

What is your favorite public resource in that city? Tell us about it.

I love Chapultepec Park in Mexico City. It has a lot of history with its museums, a castle, and lakes. It’s our Central Park, but five times bigger. It became my favorite space during the pandemic.

Outside of Mexico, I love Regency Park in London. It has big fields and plains. I love running and public spaces like this are good for the health of a city.

Could you have imagined being in the profession you are today?

The front of a Cultural Center designed by Emilio Cabrero’s practice, C Cubica Arquitectos. Photo courtesy of C Cubica Arquitectos.

This is gonna be a very boring answer, but I’ve never thought of being anything other than an architect. Since I was a kid, I always played with Legos. I lived in an area where they were building a lot of homes and I would go into the construction sites and watch houses being built. I love my work! Sometimes it’s hard as any other job, but it is very rewarding. Doing something and seeing it grow and it being something you can touch, and not abstract, is amazing. You make very important connections too, it’s a good moment for people when they are building their dream project.

What was your childhood dream job?

Architect. I always knew I’d be an architect. But if not I would be a singer!

If a young person came to you and said, “I want to do exactly what you do”, what would you say?

I would tell them to brace for impact. It’s not an easy ride, but a very valuable one. You have to listen to your inner voice and follow your dreams. Always try to be respectful of the people you work with. If you are honest and do the right thing, it will always lead you to a good place.

What excites you most about where this next generation is going in terms of health and sustainability?

All of the tools we have now and how easy they are to use. When I was studying architecture, you couldn’t go on the web and see references. You had to travel or get magazine subscriptions that would arrive months later. I think we all share common problems and knowledge and being able to communicate with people in other parts of the world and ask them for help is exciting.

Give us an example of change you have influenced in your community that you are most proud of!

We are very proud to have put design on the forefront in Mexico City. When we started, museums weren’t doing exhibits about design or architecture and we weren’t doing public projects. Now, October is the month of design. We have many programs with artisans and universities. A lot of the designers that started with us are well recognized and leading up and coming firms. Having the physical exhibit space in Chapultepec Park for our programming around design and architecture is a great achievement. Maybe this is my ego, but I’m also proud that people pay attention when they hear Design Week Mexico.

Tell us about how you started Mexico Design Week! What drove you to be a design leader in your city?

It would not be possible without my partners Marco and Andrea. We always wanted to do a  give back project. We were creating the first design center in Mexico City and we realized that we were not connected enough with the community. We were able to reach out to many people because our team is multifaceted. That's how it started. We are very project driven and we love doing Design Week along with our other work.

Who is your favorite designer or architect?

I love Mills, I love John Poulson, David Chipperfield, Gio Ponti. I’m a big fan of mid century architecture. I also like Ramirez Vasquez from Mexico, Mario Pani, Phillippe Starck, I love his work from the 90s. Patricia Urquiola is fantastic. Jaime Tresserra is extraordinary, they are all exciting. Personally I prefer Barragán. He's more simple and minimalistic, less baroque.

What has been your favorite speaking engagement?

Emilio Cabrero walking through Broadway in Downtown Nashville.

I have to say Nashville. When you have no idea of what you’re getting into, it’s very nice to be pleasantly surprised. I fell in love with the team, with Nashville, and with the people. I loved the parks and the city, and this [answer] wasn’t planned or agreed upon ahead of time!

Who is the most inspiring or influential person you’ve ever met?

Many years ago there was a very important painter named Gunther Gerzso. My business partner and I went to his studio for four hours. It was inspiring to see his work and it was one of the nicest experiences I’ve had in my life.

Tell us about an unsung hero from your city!

We have a lot of unsung heroes among the artisans in Mexico. They are doing challenging work and keeping an important tradition alive. Most of them are women that are stay at home mothers and homemakers, and they support their families through artisan work. The quality of their craftsmanship and their continuation of this generational practice makes them the unsung heroes.

What is your perspective about community meetings in Mexico versus America? Do they run differently?

In Mexico the community around a project is so important because they are the clients. You have to have the engagement of the people who will use a space. These people are the most important tools for the architect.

What is the first word you think of when you hear: 

Community? Permeate

Equity? Sharing

Design? Is everything.

Give us an example of equity in design that has recently inspired you.

We started a project with World Monuments Watch in 2018 to preserve Canal Nacional (National Channel). It’s a body of water that was made by the Aztecs 2000 years ago that used to connect rivers and lakes around Mexico City to downtown Mexico. This body of water was going to be drained and turned into a high speed motorway, but the community sued the city and won. Now they are working to preserve the waterway, what’s underneath the water, and the environment around the canal. It has modern features like a bike lane, outdoor gyms, seating areas and a jogging track. It’s a very encouraging project that has all to do with the community.

Arial view of Canal Nacional, courtesy of Design Week Mexico.

What is one place that you’ve never been that you’d like to visit?

I want to go to Australia. Architecture in Sydney is extraordinary and it’s on my bucket list.

What do you think is going to be the most powerful change from 2020 to 2021?

We have to understand that the number one thing is us; our circle or community that we probably didn’t have time for before the pandemic. We should not take things so seriously. Also, you can do a lot of things from home, I think this will stay with us for a long time. The way we measure productivity has to change.