Here, we ask designers to take a selfie and give us an inside look at their life.
Age: 29 (Rodrigo) and 30 (Julio).
Occupation: Architects and designers.
Instagram: @ateliercaracas
Hometown: Caracas.
Studio location: Caracas.
Describe what you make: We like to think of architecture as a medium through which we communicate our ideas about contemporary problems. These problems are not necessarily tied to architecture itself, but rather larger cultural questions that frame our understanding of disciplines like architecture, design, art, and pop culture. We like to question and conflate the distinction between high culture and low. Although we are both architects, we share an affinity with fashion design, cinema, and furniture design as pinnacles of inspiration throughout the design process.
The most important thing you’ve designed to date: Without a doubt it would have to be the Credenza, a curvilinear cabinet we designed as part of our first capsule furniture collection: Gardenia. The collection was introduced in 2021 and produced for the Miami-based design collective, Studio Boheme.
Describe the problem your work solves: We like to think of our work as raising questions creatively instead of positing hard and fast solutions. For us, architecture and design should make people feel uncomfortable in some sort of way, and by this we mean that it should have the ability to push people out of their comfort zone and immerse them into somewhat imaginative, even surrealistic parallel environments where they can redefine their relationship to form and space.
Describe the project you are working on now: We are currently working on various projects that straddle the realms of architecture, design, and visual arts. Since 2021, we’ve augmented our architecture projects by launching a series of furniture collections. We often design and implement custom furniture as part of our holistic architectural design programs but have just turned attention to launching standalone design collections that can be acquired and collected on a broader scale.
We are also working on a series of residential projects in a very remote place in the state of Monagas, Venezuela, that are a highlight for us.
A new or forthcoming project we should know about: Beginning November 29, we’ll be debuting the second furniture collection produced with Studio Boheme entitled Radical Semantics that will be exhibited with the Miami-based art consultancy Hayworth at the Untitled Art Fair in Miami. Radical Semantics is a Special Project for the fair, envisioned as functional sculptures—custom public seating—that will be accessible throughout the fair. Each chair is rooted in and derived from a loaded pictorial vocabulary referencing architecture, literature, music, advertising, and fine art; sources spanning from Bruce Conner to Ant Farm, the Michelin Man to Helmut Newton, John Hejduk to Michael Jordan.
What you absolutely must have in your studio: Books, coffee, and a good jazz record on repeat.
What you do when you’re not working: I usually like to go trail running, and after that cook for my family and friends (Rodrigo). Spending time at home listening to some jazz records with my wife, or skateboarding with my friends (Julio).
Sources of creative envy: Wes Anderson, Eric Owen Moss, Ant Farm, Gae Aulenti, Max Lamb, Jesús Tenreiro, Jan Kaplicky, Ed Kienholz, Fredrikson Stallard, Hans Hollein, Valerio Olgiati, 1980s Jeff Koons. The list goes on…
The distraction you want to eliminate: Instagram.
Concrete or marble? Onyx.
High-rise or townhouse? Spaceship.
Remember or forget? Nostalgia is bliss.
Aliens or ghosts? Aliens.
Dark or light? Rembrandt.
