Conversations, Pavilion Commission, and City Walks

Speakers: Georgina Cebey; Teddy Cruz; CRO Studio (Adriana Cuéllar and Marcel Sánchez); Alejandro D’Acosta; Howard Davis; AJ Kim; Michael Mehaffy; Felipe Orensanz; Andrea Torreblanca; Lorenia Urbalejo

Mexicali, Baja California, May 18–20, 2023

Conversations

El Sitio: A Timeless Way of Building

On May 18–20, 2023, INSITE invited a group of architects, urbanists, and theorists to Mexicali, Mexico, to engage in conversations about vernacular architecture, social housing, the philosophy behind patterns and places, and the political dynamics of public life. The conversations took place at the builder’s yard—colloquially known as El Sitio—of the Mexicali Experimental Project.

The Production of Houses

Thursday, May 18

Forms of vernacular and “craft” architecture and their implications in the production of housing and social spaces, as well as reimagining models for communal living.

The Nature of Order

Friday, May 19

The possibility of architecture as an ecosystem, in which
the liveliness and complexity of the social, political, cultural, and spiritual fabric of places define the morphology of their inhabitants and their future.

The City Is Not a Tree

Saturday, May 20

Public space as a receptacle for civic
and urban life, where accelerated construction, scarcity, and the recycling of architecture affect housing policies, social justice, and the dynamics of inhabiting and circulating in the city.

This event was developed in collaboration with the community health center in the former builder’s yard of the project (UNICOM), and seven faculties of Mexicali’s state university (UABC), including students in architecture, art, design, translation, and health.