«Mexican Architecture Focuses Strongly on the Image»
Following the traces of the Grisons architect Jachen Schleich in Mexico
Jachen Schleich im Gespräch mit Jasmin Kunst und Roland Züger, Rafael Gamo, Sandra Pereznieto (Bilder)
Summary
In a conversation Schleich told us about the challenges confronting those who want to build in Mexico. He worked for 13 years in the architecture office Dellekamp. At Dellekamp + Schleich he designed a three-story timber-construction commercial building and represented something entirely new in Mexico. The oak for this building was imported from the USA , today Schleich regards the external structural system critically. Through his involvement in a Swiss project to promote sustainable building in Latin America he became aware of the Minergie label. Today he is Minergie director in Mexico. He also works as a self-employed architect and in 2022 he set up the architecture office Locus. There he was involved in the construction of a visitor centre in Ecoparque Texcoco — also built of timber. From his own experience he is familiar with state construction projects for poorer districts. He views them critically, as they rarely meet local requirements and are developed with considerable haste.
Jachen Schleich (1980) completed his architecture studies at ETH Zurich in 2006. Today, he heads Minergie Mexico and, as a founding partner, also the Locus architecture firm in Mexico City. He was also a co-founder of the “La Liga de la Madera” research team for the promotion of timber construction in the country. He is part of a collective that is currently exhibiting at the Mexican Pavilion at the 19th Architecture Biennale in Venice.
