You-and-I
Year
Location
Status
Co-authors
2017
Queens, NY
Competition, Notable Entry
Adrián Flores, Carolina Segura, David de la Garza
This project was a competition by the Architectural League in New York and Socrates Sculpture Park, in which we were asked to design seating for the Park. The timing of the project came at a moment in time when US-Mexico relations were delicate and we wanted to showcase this relationship.
While travelling through Mexico, one encounters countless people in rocking chairs looking at passers-by on the street. Many of these chairs are part of the country’s imaginary; among them are those popularly known as “Tu y yo'' and “Silla Acapulco”. The “Tu y yo'' chair is native to Mérida, in the Yucatán Peninsula. It dates back to 1915 and is said to have been designed by a jealous father so that his daughter and her betrothed could go to the main plaza and seat opposite each other, looking each other in the eyes, but keeping a safe distance. The iconic “Silla Acapulco'' originated in its namesake city in the 50s and it quickly grew in fame and usage. Nowadays it evokes Acapulco’s Golden Age, when it welcomed the world’s rich and famous. Its colourful design and weaving technique has had multiple reinterpretations in modern days and can be seen now in many cafés around the country.
The chair we designed blends elements from “Tu y yo” and “Silla Acapulco”. It requires two users to sit next to each other. Without a second person, the chair is out of balance and becomes useless. This illustrates a sense of interdependency between people and encourages dialogue and openness. We are social beings and need each other.
Our chair represents the interdependence between Mexico and the United States. This sense of duality could be then extrapolated to represent more opposites. We proposed to have the chair armature produced in Monterrey, a city historically associated with steel manufacturing, and together with the PVC-wire ship them to NYC to be assembled on site with local timber, thus becoming a product of the relationship between the two countries.