Michel Rojkind on the Social Responsibility of Design

Design and the City

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.