Instructions to use
1. Use the wood blocks to build any kind of structure you wish on top of the vibrating table.
2. Once finished, use the digital camera to make a photo of your construction.
3. Be ready to take a second photo at the moment of the destruction.
4. Push the botton to start the earthquake!
5. You can play again or let someone else try it. All the photos from structures created and destroyed will be printed and posted on the walls.

This floating island it’s a site-specific permanent work for the bay of Caletilla, Acapulco. The center of the torus has a cut, which becomes a round pool in the bottom and a zenithal light dome. It is inspired in the radial symmetry of Echinacea, in particular urchins. This is connected with an old interest in sea microorganisms, like radiolarian and diatomea, which inspired the capula series. If you see them at the microscope is surprising how this unicellular exoskeletons resemble miniature buildings such as ziggurats, towers and domes. I imagined what would happen if one of these microorganisms were enlarged thousands of times to became a space we could inhabit.

Despite its voluptuous appearance the structure is extremely rational. It relies on the most efficient use of materials to provide maximum span and resistance. This is a natural characteristic of shells, which I learned to love when I was an architecture student I assisted the notable architect and engineer Felix Candela. Candela spoke about “automatic beauty”. According to him you could use geometric Principles to define a building’s structure based on its function, span and budget. The right choice of a formula would automatically a single continuous surface, which could solve the project needs, plus providing beauty. I am not sure it’s true, but it is a very nice idea that worked for him.

The Urban Genome Project is a research endeavor initiated by editor and curator Joseph Grima and artist Pedro Reyes in collaboration with the creative collective Pase Usted. Its primary intent is to “map the code on which cities are written”, thereby assembling an index of tools for improving the urban environment, with a specific focus on political processes. Much literature on urbanism addresses the design of the contemporary city, but little of it is devoted the extensive administrative work necessary for making the implementation of design strategies possible. To collect testimonies on this subject, a mobile unit resembling an expandable toolbox, designed by artist Pedro Reyes, will be mobilised as the venue of a series of live exchanges of knowledge between strategic agents, citizens, politicians and desicion makers.

When fully open, the UGP unit becomes a fully-functional open-air TV recording studio where interviews can be conducted and recorded in an open-ended process that aims to collect case studies and learn which are the best practices and main challenges that cities face in the 20th century. This pool of knowledge will be organized as a cross-referenced index that will constitute the UGP archive.

1. Supermayors
The turn of the millennium coincided with a consequential occurrence in the history of the human race: for the first time, the inhabitants of the world’s metropolitan regions outnumbered those living in rural areas. Humankind, in other words, is today an undisputedly urban species. It is becoming increasingly clear that in the 21st century it will be up to the cities and metropolitan areas, rather than nation states, to shape the world's social, political, cultural, technological and economic agendas. One premise of this project is that hand in hand with the rapid urbanization of recent decades goes an equivalent rise in the prominence and influence of the figure of the mayor. The conventional understanding of the mayor as mid-level bureaucrat and policy-maker, subservient to the national government and incapable of achieving influence on the international political stage, is being transformed - in cities all around the world - by a new breed of politician: the Supermayor.

Supermayors are, by definition, visionaries: they are dynamic, charismatic, and profoundly aware of the importance of media in shaping the future. They are the offspring of the Supercity - the vast metropolitan regions of the 21st century that are capable of competing economically and, in some instances even politically, with entire countries. They pride themselves in the autonomy of their power, and dare to undertake direct political negotiations with foreign cities or nations. A key component of the Urban Genome Project archive will be a series of in-depth interviews with current or recent mayors from cities around the world. These individuals will be chosen either for their role in redefining the contemporary understanding of what a mayor is, or for the exceptional nature of the challenges faced by the cities they govern. The objective of the interviews themselves is not just to compile accounts of the past achievements of these individuals, but to tap into their visionary outlook - beyond the political rhetoric - to piece together a glimpse of the city of the future, as seen by those charged with building it.

2. Policymakers
A second key component will be a series of dialogues with policymakers responsible for innovation in the urban sphere. These might be mayors, urban planners, administrators, governors, regulators, councillors, members of parliament, congressmen, senators, public officers, etc. These individuals will be asked to contribute an idea, strategy or policy (an “answer”), preferably derived from direct experience, to the common pool of knowledge being accumulated by the Urban Genome Project. They will also be asked to submit a problem, query or challenge (a “question”) that they are facing as policymakers. One of the ultimate goals of the UGP will be to match “questions” with “answers” from all around the world, creating a database of strategies sufficiently vast as to serve as a general point of reference for urban policymakers, transcending political and geographical boundaries.

3. Strategic Agents
A third category of individuals who will be invited to act as sources for the UGP are Strategic Agents. This group will include citizens, researchers, artists and architects, activists, writers and critics who are collectively transforming our understanding of urbanism, policy and design practices. Their ideas, strategies, innovations and research will be presented in the mobile venue and included in the UGP database. This category of contributors will include both indipendent practioners and individuals affiliated with institutions.

Methodology
As in genetics, the operative strategy of the UGP is organised into two distinct phases: prospecting and sequencing.

Part 1: Prospecting. During this phase, an archive of raw material is collected during a series of public (live) events in the mobile venue. Raw materials include interviews, presentations, debates, discussions recorded during these live events. During the prospecting stage, the aim is to travel the UGP mobile venue to as many cities as possible throughout Europe, Asia, North and South America and potentially Africa. All presentations will be published online in an open archive that will grow as the project progresses.

Part 2: Sequencing. The second part of the UGP will consist in the “sequencing” of the information collected during the first phase. Interviews and presentations will be transcribed, each presentation will be tagged with keywords and cross-referenced with other presentations...

On ocassion of Mexico’s bicentennial celebrations the city of Monterrey organized a competition for a memorial plaza. I submitted a proposal which was awarded the first prize and is currently under development. In the site 80% of the surface will be devoted to an urban forest. The other 20% is a sculpture work 100 mt long, which consist of 100 monolithic walls, each wall measuring 6x6 m. Every wall features a series of perforations so the sculpture can be walked from one end to the other as well as crossways.

The sculpture is not only an object to be seen, where citizens are spectators, but rather a stage where they become actors. Each hole in the slabs is like a window framing the action in the place, so even involuntary acts seem part of choreography. Two spaces in the structure are specifically arranged to magnify this effect, presenting opportunities for different kind of scenic arts.

This sequence of slabs presents some analogies: geological stratums, pages from a book, years in time, etc. It is a metaphor of history as human movement can connect a sequence of spaces.

This folding structure it’s an exhibition display for fashion designer Carla Fernandez exhibition at MUSAC in Leon, Spain. It blends the function of a pop up store with the features of a pop up book. Elements such as tunnels, volvelles, flaps, pull-tabs, pop-outs, pull-downs, etc. It performs all the requirements of a portable flagship store: showroom, dressing room, cashier, strorage, racks, shelves, mirrored rooms etc. The pop up store be used in museum exhibitions as a way to activate a real economy in the exhibition space. According to Carla Fernandez fashion is only fully experienced if the public has the real potential to try and test a garment of their choice, knowing they can acquire any of the pieces in stock. The social mission of the label has a long term commitment to the indigenous communities which participate in the making of the clothes. In this sense the exhibition space is a good opportunity to explain the elaborate craftsmanship process required for the completition of each garment. When folded the structure can be shipped to a different site minimizing the materials used in every new venue.