MACIA Estudio: "We must question current parameters and rethink the social housing module"

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Mexico's National Social Distancing Campaign began on March 23, 2020. However, a couple of weeks earlier, even in the face of the federal government's recommendation to continue normal activities, social media was already filled with people opting to replicate the European model and self-isolate. Right away, some architecture firms decided to close their physical offices and transition to a remote work model, while others took several weeks longer. However, this period of social and physical (spatial) distancing is experienced differently in every home. The months of this pandemic have exposed not only the inequality in accessing basic needs in dense urban areas, but also the fragility of the established social order. Whether at a macro or micro scale, all of these experiences occur within and are influenced by the built environment, making architecture both judge and jury in this equation. 

At ArchDaily, we have been tracking projects, initiatives, and articles linking COVID-19 to architecture. We believe this pandemic can yield positive, concrete actions across various theoretical and practical lines of work—including housing, public space, and participatory processes—within the architectural spectrum. That is why, as part of a collaboration with Mexican architects Mariana Ríos and Leticia Lozano from MACIA ESTUDIO–, we are launching the series Reflexiones COVID-19 (COVID-19 Reflections) aimed at Mexican architects. The series aims to understand how architectural practice in Mexico has transformed over recent weeks in response to this situation, and which personal reflections will translate into collective actions to shape the new normal of architectural practice. In this feature, we share the insights of Mariana Ríos and Leticia Lozano, co-founders of MACIA ESTUDIO, an architecture firm that explores the boundaries between experience design, collaborative processes, and applied research.