Productora Wins Second MCHAP.emerge Award

Productora, headed by four architects of different nationalities – Abel Perles (Argentina), Carlos Bedoya (Mexico), Victor Jaime (Mexico) and Wonne Ickx (Belgium) – designed the temporary pavilion for the Culture Fair 2014. The wooden structure (engineered by Veronica Correa of KALTIA and built by Fermin Espinoza of FACTOR EFICIENCIA) represented Mexico City's migration flows "through a large boardwalk that brings visitors up to a balcony overlooking the main square (Zocalo) and that comes down again to stage a symbolical arrival to the center of the city," per Productora's website.

The jury* announced the winner at the MCHAP.emerge 2014/15 Symposium that took place on Friday, April 1st at the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) in Chicago. Productora bested four finalists for the second biennial award, which were culled from 55 nominated works. In addition to the award, Productora receives the MCHAP Research Professorship in the College of Architecture at Illinois Institute of Technology for the 2016/17 academic year, and funding of up to $25,000 USD in support of research and a publication related to the theme of "Rethinking Metropolis."

MCHAP.emerge is one of three awards that IIT gives out since launching MCHAP in early 2014. Finalists for the 2014/15 MCHAP award will be announced in June, with the winner crowned in October, at which time the winner of the inaugural MCHAP.student award will also be named.

*The MCHAP jury is made up of:
 

• Stan Allen, architect and former Dean of Princeton University’s School of Architecture (New York)
• Florencia Rodriguez, editorial director of Piedra, Papel y Tijera publishers (Buenos Aires)
• Ila Berman, Professor of Architecture, University of Waterloo (Waterloo)
• Jean Pierre Crousse of Barclay & Crousse (Lima)
• IIT Dean Wiel Arets (Chicago)