TED Salon: Radical Craft
Débora Mesa Molina: Stunning buildings made from raw, imperfect materials
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What would it take to reimagine the limits of architecture? Débora Mesa Molina offers some answers in this breathtaking, visual tour of her work, showing how structures can be made with overlooked materials and unconventional methods -- or even extracted from the guts of the earth. "The world around us is an infinite source of inspiration if we are curious enough to see beneath the surface of things," she says.
Débora Mesa Molina - Architect
Débora Mesa Molina makes space for experimentation in a highly regulated profession. Full bio
Débora Mesa Molina makes space for experimentation in a highly regulated profession. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:12
Architecture is a profession
with many rules,
with many rules,
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some written, some not,
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some relevant and others not.
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As architects,
we're constantly gravitating
we're constantly gravitating
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between following these rules by the book
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or making a space for imagination --
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for experimentation.
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This is a difficult balance.
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Especially through architecture,
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you're trying to challenge preconceptions
and push boundaries and innovate,
and push boundaries and innovate,
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even if just using what we have around
and we overlook all the time.
and we overlook all the time.
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And this is what I've been doing
along with my team,
along with my team,
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Ensamble Studio,
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and from our very early works
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that happened
in strict historic contexts,
in strict historic contexts,
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like the city of Santiago de Compostela.
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Here we built the General Society
of Authors and Editors,
of Authors and Editors,
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a cultural building.
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And on top of all the regulations,
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we had to use stone by code
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and our experience was limited,
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but we had incredible
references to learn from,
references to learn from,
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some coming from the city itself
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or from nearby landscapes
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or other remote places
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that had impacted
our education as architects,
our education as architects,
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and maybe you recognize here.
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But somehow the finished products
that industry made available
that industry made available
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for us as architects
to use in our buildings
to use in our buildings
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seemed to have lost their soul.
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And so we decided to go
to the nearby quarries
to the nearby quarries
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to better understand the process
that transforms a mountain
that transforms a mountain
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into a perfectly square tile
that you buy from a supplier.
that you buy from a supplier.
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And we were taken by the monumental
scale of the material
scale of the material
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and the actions to extract it.
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And looking carefully,
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we noticed hundreds of irregular
blocks piling up everywhere.
blocks piling up everywhere.
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They are the leftovers
of an extraction sequence:
of an extraction sequence:
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the ugly parts that nobody wants.
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But we wanted them.
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We were inspired.
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And it was a win-win situation
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where we could get this residual
material of great quality,
material of great quality,
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doomed to be crushed,
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at a very low cost.
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Now, we had to convince our clients
that this was a good idea;
that this was a good idea;
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but foremost, we had to come up
with a design process
with a design process
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to reuse these randomly shaped rocks,
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and we had not done this before.
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Today everything would be much easier
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because we would go to the quarry
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with our smartphones
equipped with 3-D scanners
equipped with 3-D scanners
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and we would document each rock,
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turn that into a digital model --
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highly engineer the whole process.
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But more than a decade ago,
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we had to embrace uncertainty
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and put on our boots, roll up our sleeves
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and move to the quarry
for a hands-on experience.
for a hands-on experience.
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And we also had to become the contractors
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because we failed at finding somebody
willing to share the risk with us.
willing to share the risk with us.
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Now, luckily, we convinced the quarry team
to help us build a few prototypes
to help us build a few prototypes
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to resolve some of the technical details.
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And we agreed on a few mock-ups,
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but we got excited,
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and one stone led to another
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until we succeeded to build
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an 18-meter-long
by eight-meter-high structure
by eight-meter-high structure
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that recycled all the amorphous
material of the quarry,
material of the quarry,
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just supported by gravity --
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no mortar and no ties.
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And once built and tested,
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moving it to the final site
in the city center
in the city center
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to unite it with the rest of the building
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was a piece of cake,
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because by having isolated uncertainty
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and managed risk in the controlled
environment of the quarry,
environment of the quarry,
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we were able to complete
the whole building in time
the whole building in time
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and on budget,
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even if using nonconventional
means and methods.
means and methods.
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And I still get goosebumps
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when I see this big chunk
of the industrial landscape
of the industrial landscape
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in the city,
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in a building,
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experienced by the visitors
and the neighbors.
and the neighbors.
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This building gave us
quite a few headaches,
quite a few headaches,
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and so it could have well been
an exception in our work,
an exception in our work,
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but instead it started to inform
a modus operandi
a modus operandi
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where every project
becomes this opportunity
becomes this opportunity
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to test the limits of a discipline
we believe has to be urgently reimagined.
we believe has to be urgently reimagined.
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So what you see here are four homes
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that we have designed,
built and inhabited.
built and inhabited.
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Four manifestos where
we are using the small scale
we are using the small scale
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to ask ourselves big questions.
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And we are trying to discover
the architectures
the architectures
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that result from unconventional
applications of pretty mundane materials
applications of pretty mundane materials
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and technologies,
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like concrete in different forms
in the top row,
in the top row,
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or steel and foam in the bottom row.
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Take, for instance,
these precast concrete beams.
these precast concrete beams.
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You have probably seen them
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building bridges, highways,
water channels --
water channels --
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we found them on one of our visits
to a precast concrete factory.
to a precast concrete factory.
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And they might not seem
especially homey or beautiful,
especially homey or beautiful,
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but we decided to use them
to build our first house.
to build our first house.
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And this was an incredible moment
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because we got to be architects as always,
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builders once more
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and, for the first time,
we could be our own clients.
we could be our own clients.
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So, here we are trying to figure out
how we can take these huge catalogue beams
how we can take these huge catalogue beams
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of about 20 tons each
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and stack them progressively
around a courtyard space ...
around a courtyard space ...
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the heart of the house.
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And due to the dimensions
and their material quality,
and their material quality,
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these big parts are the structure
that carry the loads to the ground,
that carry the loads to the ground,
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but they are much more than that.
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They are the swimming pool;
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they are the walls that divide
interior from exterior;
interior from exterior;
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they are the windows that frame the views;
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they are the finishes;
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they are the very spirit of this house.
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A house that is for us a laboratory
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where we are testing how we can use
standard elements in nonstandard ways.
standard elements in nonstandard ways.
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And we are observing
that the results are intriguing.
that the results are intriguing.
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And we are learning by doing
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that prefabrication
can be much more than stacking boxes
can be much more than stacking boxes
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or that heavy parts
can be airy and transparent.
can be airy and transparent.
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And on top of designing
and building this house,
and building this house,
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we get invaluable feedback,
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sharing it with our family
and our friends
and our friends
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because this is our life
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and our work in progress.
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The lessons that we learn here
get translated into other projects
get translated into other projects
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and other programs
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and other scales as well,
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and they inspire new work.
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Here again we are looking
at very standard products:
at very standard products:
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galvanized steel studs
that can be easily cut and screwed,
that can be easily cut and screwed,
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insulating foams, cement boards --
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all materials that you can find
hidden in partition walls
hidden in partition walls
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and that we are exposing;
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and we are using them to build
a very lightweight construction system
a very lightweight construction system
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that can be built almost by anyone.
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And we are doing it ourselves
with our hands in our shop,
with our hands in our shop,
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and we are architects.
We're not professional builders
We're not professional builders
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but we want to make sure it's possible.
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And it's so nice that Antón
can move it with his hands
can move it with his hands
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and Javier can put it in a container,
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and we can ship it
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like you would ship your belongings
if you were moving abroad ...
if you were moving abroad ...
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which is what we did five years ago.
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We moved our gravity center from Madrid
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and the house of the concrete
beams to Brookline.
beams to Brookline.
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And we found the ugly duckling
of a very nice neighborhood:
of a very nice neighborhood:
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a one-story garage
and the only thing we could afford.
and the only thing we could afford.
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But it was OK because we wanted
to transform it into a swan,
to transform it into a swan,
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installing on top
our just-delivered kit of parts,
our just-delivered kit of parts,
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once more becoming the scientists
and the guinea pigs.
and the guinea pigs.
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So this is a house
that uses some of the cheapest
that uses some of the cheapest
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and most normal materials
that you can find in the market
that you can find in the market
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that applies the ubiquitous
four-by-eight modulation
four-by-eight modulation
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that governs the construction industry.
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And yet a different
organization of the spaces
organization of the spaces
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and a different assembly of the parts
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is able to transform
an economically built home
an economically built home
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into a luxurious space.
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And now, we're dreaming and we're
actively working with developers,
actively working with developers,
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with builders,
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with communities
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to try to make this a reality
for many more homes
for many more homes
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and many more families.
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And you see, the world around us
is an infinite source of inspiration
is an infinite source of inspiration
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if we are curious enough
to see beneath the surface of things.
to see beneath the surface of things.
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Now I'm going to take you
to the other side of the moon:
to the other side of the moon:
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to the sublime landscape of Montana,
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where a few years ago
we joined Cathy and Peter Halstead
we joined Cathy and Peter Halstead
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to imagine Tippet Rise Art Center
on a 10,000-acre working ranch.
on a 10,000-acre working ranch.
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And when we first visited the site,
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we realized that all we knew
about what an art center is
about what an art center is
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was absolutely pointless for that client,
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for that community, for that landscape.
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The kind of white-box museum type
had no fit here.
had no fit here.
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So we decided to explode the center
into a constellation of fragments,
into a constellation of fragments,
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of spaces spread
across the vast territory
across the vast territory
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that would immerse the visitors
into the wilderness of this amazing place.
into the wilderness of this amazing place.
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So back in the office,
we are thinking through making,
we are thinking through making,
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using the land both as support
and as material,
and as material,
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learning from its geological processes
of sedimentation, erosion,
of sedimentation, erosion,
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fragmentation, crystallization --
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explosion --
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to discover architectures
that are born from the land,
that are born from the land,
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that are visceral extensions
of the landscape,
of the landscape,
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like this bridge
that crosses Murphy Canyon.
that crosses Murphy Canyon.
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Or this fountain.
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Like this space topping a hill ...
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or this theatre that brings to us
the space of the mountains
the space of the mountains
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and its sound.
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And in order to realize this idea,
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construction cannot be perfectly planned.
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We need to embrace the drastic weather
and the local craft.
and the local craft.
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We need to control
just those aspects that are critical,
just those aspects that are critical,
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like the structural, the thermal,
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the acoustical properties
embedded in the form.
embedded in the form.
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But otherwise, improvisation
is welcome and is provoked.
is welcome and is provoked.
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And the moment of construction
is still a moment of design
is still a moment of design
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and a moment of celebration
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where different hands, hearts, minds
come together to perform a final dance.
come together to perform a final dance.
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And the result then cannot be anticipated.
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It comes as a surprise.
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And we unwrap architecture
like you would unwrap a birthday gift.
like you would unwrap a birthday gift.
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Architecture isn't uncovered:
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it's discovered.
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It's extracted from the guts
of the earth to build a shelter,
of the earth to build a shelter,
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one of the most basic human needs.
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Architecture, art, landscape,
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archaeology, geology -- all made one.
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And by using the resources
at our disposal in radical ways,
at our disposal in radical ways,
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by making a space for experimentation,
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we are able to bring to light
architectures that find the beauty latent
architectures that find the beauty latent
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in the raw and imperfect
things that surround us,
things that surround us,
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that elevate them
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and let them speak their own language.
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Thank you.
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(Applause)
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Débora Mesa Molina - ArchitectDébora Mesa Molina makes space for experimentation in a highly regulated profession.
Why you should listen
Débora Mesa Molina designs and builds architectures that use overlooked materials and discover the beauty of the mundane. She is the principal architect of Ensamble Studio, a cross-functional team based in Madrid and Boston that she leads with her partner Antón García-Abril. Balancing imagination with reality, art and science, their work innovates typologies, technologies and methodologies to address issues as diverse as the construction of the landscape to the prefabrication of the house. From their early works -- such as SGAE Headquarters, Hemeroscopium House or The Truffle in Spain -- to their most recent works -- including the Cyclopean House and Structures of Landscape in the US -- every project navigates the uncertain aim of advancing their field. Through their startup WoHo, they are invested in increasing the quality of architecture while making it more affordable by integrating offsite technologies.
Mesa Molina is committed to sharing ideas and cultivating synergies between professional and academic worlds through teaching, lecturing and researching. Since 2018, she has served as Ventulett Chair in Architectural Design at Georgia Tech, and previously served as research scientist at MIT where she cofounded the POPlab in 2012. Above all, she is a doer, committed to making poetic ideas happen.
Débora Mesa Molina | Speaker | TED.com