Stronger Together: Ambrosi Etchegaray's Gabriela Etchegaray on Courage, Collaboration, and Finding Joy
Portrait by Andres Oyuela
By Julia Gamolina
Gabriela Etchegaray is an architect, curator and researcher based in Mexico City and New York. Her work is developed through the design of projects, installations, exhibitions and curatorial proposals. Her research focuses on social values, geography and architecture through documents, texts, buildings. She is co-founder of AMBROSIETCHEGARAY, along with Jorge Ambrosi. She was curator of the Mexico Pavilion for La 16va Biennale di Venezia, winner of the 2016 Moira Gemill Award. In her interview with Julia Gamolina, Gabriela Etchegaray talks about self-empowerment and finding joy, advising those just starting their careers to be critical of their own work.
JG: Tell me about your foundational years — where did you grow up and what did you like to do as a kid?
GE: I have fond memories of growing up in Mexico City, although the area where I lived has changed drastically over the years. The neighborhood used to be less urbanized, and my parents invested time and money in building a perimeter fence around our house to keep the cows from grazing in the surrounding of the house. We also kept cats to scare away mice.
Our house was located at the edge of a Barranca, where my brothers, some neighbors, and I spent most of the afternoons exploring or taking long walks. As we got older, we would often cut our walks short to find a spot where we could without getting caught. One of my closest friends lived nearby, and although we went to the same school, our friendship began in the afternoons when I would go to her house to study, or she come to mine to explore the Barranca. Before exams, I would create maps and diagrams of the themes we studied, and we would spend hours playing with her Playmobil toys, which what I enjoyed the most was to arrange the layout of the house, street, or situation.
What did you learn about yourself in studying architecture?
Studying architecture has enabled me to gain knowledge about other cultures and beliefs and has even led me to engage in meditative practices. Through my studies, I have learned to recognize how my own needs and lifestyle are interconnected with the world around me. Initially, I believed that architects were primarily builders. Mainly, because during my time at Universidad Iberoamericana, the Dean ensured that most professors had their own practice. This provided me with an opportunity to establish relationships with exceptional architects who I still enjoy learning from and talking to. However, for a long time, I had a limited understanding of architecture, which hindered my ability to address projects from a perspective in which I would feel more comfortable.
This prompted me to return to school, first to study contemporary art, then to pursue a master's degree in urbanism in Barcelona at ETSAB, and finally to undertake a program in critical, curatorial, and conceptual practice in NYC at GSAPP. These experiences have allowed me to view architecture from multiple perspectives and recognize the interconnectedness of all things. I have learned that I find joy and interest in the idea that architecture is more expansive than it initially appears, and that it is entangled with all living things and thus it may take part in addressing contemporary issues at stake.
Guayacan Pavilion, AmbrosiEtchegaray. Photo by Arlette Del Hoyo.
Casa Volta, Ambrosi Etchegaray, Puerto Escondido. Photo by Jaime Navarro.
How did you get your start in working in architecture?
During my studies, I completed various internships with professors and architects, working at small and large firms starting from my fifth semester. After graduation, I worked full time at the office of Mexican architect Mauricio Rocha, a small firm at the time. I was responsible for the conceptual and initial stages of many projects, including the studio of his mother Graciela Iturbide and the home of photographers LAKE VEREA. During my last years there, I also led architectural competitions. Alongside my office work, I collaborated with Jorge Ambrosi on various projects, some of which were in conjunction with Mauricio Rocha, while others were independent. I am grateful to Mauricio Rocha for introducing me to contemporary art and fostering my interest in this field.
Tell me how your firm came about, and what you've learned through running your practice — about the world, about architecture, about yourself.
After gaining some experience at Mauricio Rocha Taller, I decided to start my own architecture firm with Jorge Ambrosi. At first, I struggled with doubts and fears about our partnership, primarily because I was younger than him and also, because I am a woman. At the beginning, clients would often perceive me differently from Jorge, assuming that I was his assistant, his girlfriend, or the interior designer in charge of the domestic details like laundry rooms, walk-in closets, and kitchens. However, I had to empower myself and remind myself that we were a team, and our team was stronger because of our different perspectives and strengths.
When we started our firm, Jorge and I approached each project equally. We had a lot of discussions and support before even tracing the first lines of a design. We would bet on the idea that resonated better with our ideal of architecture, which was enriching and intense. We would question each other's ideas, which helped me navigate uncertain moments and the initial gender conflicts that we had to resolve as a team. It was important for me to remain true to myself and remember what I liked when designing a project, while also working collaboratively with Jorge to create the best possible outcome for our clients as well as to what it meant for us architecture.
“I had to empower myself and remind myself that we were a team, and our team was stronger because of our different perspectives and strengths.”
What have you also learned in the last six months (in general)?
Finding yoy in the burden of work. Last semester, I taught a studio that focused on the network of care and the domestic landscape. This syllabus was inspired by my own experiences as a mother and explored the connections between motherhood, architecture, feminism, inequality, politics, and more. Although the semester was challenging, involving travel, teaching, and work, I found that there was joy in the experience rather than simply feeling burdened by it. I appreciated the feeling of exhaustion that came from being pushed to learn and grow, rather than from boredom or apathy.
Looking back at it all, what have been the biggest challenges? How did you manage through perceived disappointments or setbacks?
One of the daily challenges I face is defining what needs to be done and figuring out the best way to approach it. These questions must be continually re-evaluated over longer timeframes from months, years, and up to five years. I guess five years has been my limit in time-scale to project Ambrosi Etchegaray. Even though some projects have trespassed that period of time.
Additionally, I ask myself how I can nurture my office work or the ideas that drive my work. Managing disappointment can only be done over time; time is crucial for learning and growth, whether the outcome is positive or negative. When I encounter disappointment, I look forward to the next project or moment when I can critically reconsider my approach based on my previous experiences.
Echoes of a Land, Ambrosi Etchegaray. Photo by Rory Gardiner.
Murals of a territory, Galeria Benlliure UNAM. Courtesy of Ambrosi Etchegaray.
What are you most excited about right now?
In recent years, our focus has been primarily about projects on paper. However, we currently have five projects under construction that are both extremely motivating and taxing for the scale of our office. One of these is a family project that my partner, Jorge, and I have been conceptualizing for several years, in collaboration with my parents and brothers. Seeing this house take shape is both exhilarating and challenging.
In addition to such projects under construction, I am also collaborating with a writer friend to write about motherhood, feminism, and in general the state or condition of being a woman. To inform our writing, I am devouring all possible literature on these topics.
Lastly, I am excited about a project that has been brewing in my mind and that I feel compelled to bring to fruition — creating a space for architectural research and archives. I believe this project has the potential to be a valuable resource for the field, and I am eager to begin working on it.
“I find it truly inspiring when people have the courage to change their established behavior patterns, even if it means going against the status quo or being perceived as ‘party killers.’ The willingness to take on such challenges and make a positive impact on the world around us is truly commendable.”
Who are you admiring now and why?
I have great admiration for individuals who challenge societal norms and take action to effect change within their respective social and cultural contexts. These are individuals who question long-standing traditions such as the practice of taking on a husband's surname, who actively break down gender roles, and who challenge conventional notions of self-expression and resource consumption.
Furthermore, I hold in high regard those who are mindful of the impact of their actions on the environment, those who alter their diets to reduce their carbon footprint, and those who strive for equity in both their personal and professional lives.
I find it truly inspiring when people have the courage to change their established behavior patterns, even if it means going against the status quo or being perceived as "party killers." The willingness to take on such challenges and make a positive impact on the world around us is truly commendable.
Last summer, I had the opportunity to visit two different galleries and discover works that were previously unknown to me. One of the galleries featured a performance titled "May Amnesia Never Kiss Us on the Mouth" by Abbas and Ruanne Abou-Rahme at the MOMA. The piece explored the themes of loss and grief in relation to displacement and forced migration, claiming the space of multiple communities affected by these issues through songs and dances. I found the performance to be a profound investigation, presented in a poetic and interdisciplinary manner with a critical tone that resonates globally. Although the performance is directed towards communities in Palestine, Syria, and Iraq, it has universal relevance.
At another gallery, Cuchifritos Gallery + Project Space, I viewed a series of pieces by Ani Liu titled "Ecologies of Care." The exhibition presented an academic and artistic approach with facts and data that question the work of motherhood, the relationship between technology, reproduction, and the biopolitical control of bodies as a means of production. While the approach is completely different from the performance, both works touched on themes that I found relevant in my research and that could be weaved to architecture.
Circulo Mexicano Hotel, Ambrosi Etchegaray. Photo by Sergio Lopez.
Transfigurations, Ambrosi Etchegaray. A portrait, a cartography and a piece with tailing damp matter. Lisbon Triennale, Cycles, 2023, Garagem Sul.
What is the impact you’d like to have on the world? What is your core mission? And, what does success in that look like to you?
To think of how to impact the world sounds immense. However, over the years, I've focused on being persistent in my believes, following the strong urge to challenge the status quo and promote equity and diversity, both at work and in my personal life. I am pleased to make a positive difference, by adopting an approach that prioritizes principles of inclusion and sustainability in my profession. I like to think that this vision permeates the architecture we develop in the office, and it is extended to the everyday life and to the domestic landscape of the team, as well as the people that live such projects.
After presenting the curatorial proposal at the 16th Venice Biennale, we've embraced a more robust territorial approach in all our projects. We seek to understand how territories operate at different scales and the networks that are involved in architecture through social, ecological, economic, and infrastructural connections. Under this approach we had aimed to transcend the formal aesthetics of our architecture and to contribute critically to a more equitable and sustainable built environment.
I guess my core mission is to make architecture as a facilitator, a medium, a conduit for research, a practice that evidence and articulates conditions in relation to space and time. A practice that addresses endless interconnections for a greater good in its environment and in relation to the inhabitants of the project.
Finally, what advice do you have for those starting their career? Would your advice be any different for women?
To be critical in your own work. To open up architecture to other forms of knowledge and to prioritize inclusion, sustainability and social justice. Architecture has the potential to have a significant and positive impact on the built environment and on society as a whole, but to do so you must learn to be critical with the whole process when designing. The advice for women in architecture would be the same, although I would point out to stand for other women whenever possible.
Portrait by Andres Oyuela.