at the 2020 engadin art talks (E.A.T.) in switzerland, mexican architect tatiana bilbao took to the stage to present a talk titled ?how silence and sound shape the domestic space: the cistercian monastery as a form of living?. in the lecture, which can be seen in the video below, bilbao talks about her time at a monastery in lower austria and how she learned how to design for the monks that live there.
 
after her E.A.T. lecture, designboom spoke with tatiana bilbao to understand what she gained from talking with the monks and how she can apply this to other, more conventional projects. the mexican architect also explained how she approaches each project by putting herself in the position of its user, and why she loves to teach. read the interview in full below.
ventura house, monterrey, mexico (also main image)
image © rory gardiner (main image © iwan baan)
 
 
designboom (DB): yesterday, in your talk, you elaborated on what people want from a space. as you have to interpret it, you always thought it?s better to know the person as much as possible so you can understand their needs. however, then it changed a little when you saw, for example, the community of priests, with completely different needs. so it?s not so important to know every single priest or know their preferences, but it?s something about the absence of things to create space ? the mindfulness. can you a little bit elaborate on this"
 
tatiana bilbao (TB): I don?t think it changed my mind in te...