Archivo is the only project in Mexico dedicated to collecting, exhibiting, and rethinking design and architecture.
Archivo is focused on researching and advocating design, as well as in exploring its history and evolution, questioning its principles, and exploiting its potential as a tool for everyday transformation.
Through our permanent collection—consisting of 1,800 objects, a specialized library, and a dynamic program of research, exhibitions, and activities, Archivo has established itself as a pioneering space and an essential reference for design and architecture in Mexico and abroad.
(ESPAÑOL) TRANSPORTE
general
DIRECTOR
ASSISTANT CURATOR
PROJECTS MANAGER
RESEARCH
Our collection is a resource that we extend to all public as a research tool. We’ll share information about its relocation soon. For the library, we recommend that you make an appointment by sending us an email where you specify the topics you are looking for.
VOLUNTEERING
Archivo seeks volunteers all year. If you are passionate about design and want to be part of the team, check our programs here.
WEB CREDITS
design: Alejandro Olávarri
realization: dupla.mx
Archivo is not your typical archive. Instead of simply organizing and preserving documents that are only accessible to specialists, we want to produce new readings, perspectives, and ideas regarding material culture in its broadest sense, without restricting ourselves to categorical definitions or expert knowledge.
We are not a repository of records and documents, but of artifacts, testimonies, activations, and any sort of exploration about design. Archivo is an open archive: our storage rooms are accessible and our catalog is open; we share our resources, and we make our processes public.
We see Archivo as the raw material for learning and experimenting with design and architecture, a source of inspiration for designers, where curiosity, knowledge, and critical thought are instilled.
Archivo reasserts the relevance of design in our daily lives. We are pioneers in researching and exhibiting design in Mexico and we offer a unique study collection of everyday design. We’ve broken down our SPACE and work into three areas of activity:
From our foundation, Archivo has focused on acquiring, cataloging, and preserving a permanent collection of popular and industrial design as well as limited edition objects from the 20th and 21st centuries. Convinced that there is a difference between interacting with an object and seeing a representation of it in a book or website, we decided to open our archive in 2016, through Archivo Abierto—our open storage, consultation, and exhibition area, allowing anyone to see our collection up close and to interact with the pieces.
The other half of our permanent collection is the Archivo library, which specializes in architecture, art, and design. It is divided into two: the Personal Collection of Enrique del Moral (CEM) and the Archivo Collection (CAD). Both can be perused in our Reading Room.
You can also explore our entire collections (both the object collection and the library) in our online catalogue.
Design and architecture are meant to be used and experienced, not displayed in a museum or gallery space. So, how and why do we exhibit design?
For Archivo, the answer to this question changes and adapts as time pases and according to different scenarios, but we generally believe that the practice of exhibiting design is important to rediscover histories, make processes public, and to go beyond the surface of a finished product. Our purpose is to strip design from any sense of mystery trying to tie it to a broader discussion regarding cultural and collective processes.
Our exhibitions delve into these concerns and attempt to push their boundaries: they question the nature of authorship in design and the relevance of process; they reveal the engineering logics behind a common artifact or blur the object-based focus of design; they reactivate historical memories, and seek to redefine the relationship between design and contemporary life in Mexico.
You can explore a complete history of our past exhibitions, learn more about our current shows, or discover the ones we have planned for the future.
Archivo seeks to inspire and encourage people to think design in non-traditional ways, to break disciplinary boundaries, and to create a broader view of the practice and its contexts, processes, histories, uses, and impacts.
Archivo is both a practical and educational resource for students and professionals, as well as a space that introduces a broader audience to design and material culture.
We generate and promote original and informed perspectives through a range of formats that are accessible to everyone: research projects and publications, opinion pieces, workshops and collaborations, and even informal gatherings and other kinds of activities.
Archivo is an exhibition space, as well as a research and gathering space; entrance is free of charge and open to the public. We want you to visit Archivo, but we especially want you to use Archivo. We want you to see our exhibitions and spend the day reading our books in the Reading Room or in the garden, having a coffee. We invite you to use our archive for your research or school project, or to participate in one of our conversations and workshops.
We may be a small, independent space, but we offer a considerable variety of resources and activities, as well as an ambitious program, and original, quality cultural offerings.
You can collaborate with Archivo through our volunteer program. If you are part of the design community in Mexico and you have a project or a collaboration proposal that involves Archivo, you can also contact us.
Sometimes we offer spaces for private events. If you are interested in hosting a photo shoot, a book launch, a dinner or a private event in Archivo, you can request information through our e-mail: info@archivo.design.
Archivo is the only project in Mexico dedicated to collecting, exhibiting, and rethinking design and architecture.
Archivo is focused on researching and advocating design, as well as in exploring its history and evolution, questioning its principles, and exploiting its potential as a tool for everyday transformation.
Through our permanent collection—consisting of 1,800 objects, a specialized library, and a dynamic program of research, exhibitions, and activities, Archivo has established itself as a pioneering space and an essential reference for design and architecture in Mexico and abroad.
Archivo is not your typical archive. Instead of simply organizing and preserving documents that are only accessible to specialists, we want to produce new readings, perspectives, and ideas regarding material culture in its broadest sense, without restricting ourselves to categorical definitions or expert knowledge.
We are not a repository of records and documents, but of artifacts, testimonies, activations, and any sort of exploration about design. Archivo is an open archive: our storage rooms are accessible and our catalog is open; we share our resources, and we make our processes public.
We see Archivo as the raw material for learning and experimenting with design and architecture, a source of inspiration for designers, where curiosity, knowledge, and critical thought are instilled.
Archivo reasserts the relevance of design in our daily lives. We are pioneers in researching and exhibiting design in Mexico and we offer a unique study collection of everyday design. We’ve broken down our SPACE and work into three areas of activity:
From our foundation, Archivo has focused on acquiring, cataloging, and preserving a permanent collection of popular and industrial design as well as limited edition objects from the 20th and 21st centuries. Convinced that there is a difference between interacting with an object and seeing a representation of it in a book or website, we decided to open our archive in 2016, through Archivo Abierto—our open storage, consultation, and exhibition area, allowing anyone to see our collection up close and to interact with the pieces.
The other half of our permanent collection is the Archivo library, which specializes in architecture, art, and design. It is divided into two: the Personal Collection of Enrique del Moral (CEM) and the Archivo Collection (CAD). Both can be perused in our Reading Room.
You can also explore our entire collections (both the object collection and the library) in our online catalogue.
Design and architecture are meant to be used and experienced, not displayed in a museum or gallery space. So, how and why do we exhibit design?
For Archivo, the answer to this question changes and adapts as time pases and according to different scenarios, but we generally believe that the practice of exhibiting design is important to rediscover histories, make processes public, and to go beyond the surface of a finished product. Our purpose is to strip design from any sense of mystery trying to tie it to a broader discussion regarding cultural and collective processes.
Our exhibitions delve into these concerns and attempt to push their boundaries: they question the nature of authorship in design and the relevance of process; they reveal the engineering logics behind a common artifact or blur the object-based focus of design; they reactivate historical memories, and seek to redefine the relationship between design and contemporary life in Mexico.
You can explore a complete history of our past exhibitions, learn more about our current shows, or discover the ones we have planned for the future.
Archivo seeks to inspire and encourage people to think design in non-traditional ways, to break disciplinary boundaries, and to create a broader view of the practice and its contexts, processes, histories, uses, and impacts.
Archivo is both a practical and educational resource for students and professionals, as well as a space that introduces a broader audience to design and material culture.
We generate and promote original and informed perspectives through a range of formats that are accessible to everyone: research projects and publications, opinion pieces, workshops and collaborations, and even informal gatherings and other kinds of activities.
Archivo is an exhibition space, as well as a research and gathering space; entrance is free of charge and open to the public. We want you to visit Archivo, but we especially want you to use Archivo. We want you to see our exhibitions and spend the day reading our books in the Reading Room or in the garden, having a coffee. We invite you to use our archive for your research or school project, or to participate in one of our conversations and workshops.
We may be a small, independent space, but we offer a considerable variety of resources and activities, as well as an ambitious program, and original, quality cultural offerings.
You can collaborate with Archivo through our volunteer program. If you are part of the design community in Mexico and you have a project or a collaboration proposal that involves Archivo, you can also contact us.
Sometimes we offer spaces for private events. If you are interested in hosting a photo shoot, a book launch, a dinner or a private event in Archivo, you can request information through our e-mail: info@archivo.design.
Archivo is the only project in Mexico dedicated to collecting, exhibiting, and rethinking design and architecture.
Archivo is focused on researching and advocating design, as well as in exploring its history and evolution, questioning its principles, and exploiting its potential as a tool for everyday transformation.
Through our permanent collection—consisting of 1,800 objects, a specialized library, and a dynamic program of research, exhibitions, and activities, Archivo has established itself as a pioneering space and an essential reference for design and architecture in Mexico and abroad.
(ESPAÑOL) TRANSPORTE
general
DIRECTOR
ASSISTANT CURATOR
PROJECTS MANAGER
RESEARCH
Our collection is a resource that we extend to all public as a research tool. We’ll share information about its relocation soon. For the library, we recommend that you make an appointment by sending us an email where you specify the topics you are looking for.
VOLUNTEERING
Archivo seeks volunteers all year. If you are passionate about design and want to be part of the team, check our programs here.
WEB CREDITS
design: Alejandro Olávarri
realization: dupla.mx
Archivo is not your typical archive. Instead of simply organizing and preserving documents that are only accessible to specialists, we want to produce new readings, perspectives, and ideas regarding material culture in its broadest sense, without restricting ourselves to categorical definitions or expert knowledge.
We are not a repository of records and documents, but of artifacts, testimonies, activations, and any sort of exploration about design. Archivo is an open archive: our storage rooms are accessible and our catalog is open; we share our resources, and we make our processes public.
We see Archivo as the raw material for learning and experimenting with design and architecture, a source of inspiration for designers, where curiosity, knowledge, and critical thought are instilled.
Archivo reasserts the relevance of design in our daily lives. We are pioneers in researching and exhibiting design in Mexico and we offer a unique study collection of everyday design. We’ve broken down our SPACE and work into three areas of activity:
From our foundation, Archivo has focused on acquiring, cataloging, and preserving a permanent collection of popular and industrial design as well as limited edition objects from the 20th and 21st centuries. Convinced that there is a difference between interacting with an object and seeing a representation of it in a book or website, we decided to open our archive in 2016, through Archivo Abierto—our open storage, consultation, and exhibition area, allowing anyone to see our collection up close and to interact with the pieces.
The other half of our permanent collection is the Archivo library, which specializes in architecture, art, and design. It is divided into two: the Personal Collection of Enrique del Moral (CEM) and the Archivo Collection (CAD). Both can be perused in our Reading Room.
You can also explore our entire collections (both the object collection and the library) in our online catalogue.
Design and architecture are meant to be used and experienced, not displayed in a museum or gallery space. So, how and why do we exhibit design?
For Archivo, the answer to this question changes and adapts as time pases and according to different scenarios, but we generally believe that the practice of exhibiting design is important to rediscover histories, make processes public, and to go beyond the surface of a finished product. Our purpose is to strip design from any sense of mystery trying to tie it to a broader discussion regarding cultural and collective processes.
Our exhibitions delve into these concerns and attempt to push their boundaries: they question the nature of authorship in design and the relevance of process; they reveal the engineering logics behind a common artifact or blur the object-based focus of design; they reactivate historical memories, and seek to redefine the relationship between design and contemporary life in Mexico.
You can explore a complete history of our past exhibitions, learn more about our current shows, or discover the ones we have planned for the future.
Archivo seeks to inspire and encourage people to think design in non-traditional ways, to break disciplinary boundaries, and to create a broader view of the practice and its contexts, processes, histories, uses, and impacts.
Archivo is both a practical and educational resource for students and professionals, as well as a space that introduces a broader audience to design and material culture.
We generate and promote original and informed perspectives through a range of formats that are accessible to everyone: research projects and publications, opinion pieces, workshops and collaborations, and even informal gatherings and other kinds of activities.
Archivo is an exhibition space, as well as a research and gathering space; entrance is free of charge and open to the public. We want you to visit Archivo, but we especially want you to use Archivo. We want you to see our exhibitions and spend the day reading our books in the Reading Room or in the garden, having a coffee. We invite you to use our archive for your research or school project, or to participate in one of our conversations and workshops.
We may be a small, independent space, but we offer a considerable variety of resources and activities, as well as an ambitious program, and original, quality cultural offerings.
You can collaborate with Archivo through our volunteer program. If you are part of the design community in Mexico and you have a project or a collaboration proposal that involves Archivo, you can also contact us.
Sometimes we offer spaces for private events. If you are interested in hosting a photo shoot, a book launch, a dinner or a private event in Archivo, you can request information through our e-mail: info@archivo.design.
HALL TEXT
1
Architecture is,
as well,
circumstantial
2
Human being
is, at the same time,
his own memory
3
The landscape may be,
equally,
resourceful and hindrance
4
Nature coexists
through time, bound and
victim of ego
5
Past
Modern past
Nostalgic past
6
Modernity?
What is it? Extraction
or consumption
7
What once was,
another time it might be
8
Transformed landscapes
schizophrenic,
historical gaps
9
Architecture is
light, space and memory
LOBBY TEXT
Several years ago, chilean poet Nicanor Parra questioned modernity with a poem titled “Soliloquio del Individuo” / “The Individual’s Soliloquy”; “Perhaps I better go back to that valley, / To that rock that was home, / And start scratching out everything backward, / The world in reverse. / But life doesn’t make sense”, the anti-poet wrote.
Primordial / Primary place the human being within the vulnerability that inhabits the present, in this vicious, antagonistic and self-destructive relationship between nature, a relationship that cannot be unravel. Today’s crisis opens new contemplation possibilities, where Primary finds the light through the void, a view across destroyed landscapes over time. Architecture serves as a vehicle through remembrance: a viewpoint; a dry footprint; subtracted space. Chalco Lake, Xaltepec Volcano, Monte Tlaloc Valley.
We haven’t been able to turn our cohabitation with nature into a self-supporting and harmonic mechanism, and now, our present is fraught with uncertainty. Scarcity is as relative as the overexploitation that we create. There is no shortage when moderation prevails and there’s no
illusion when apathy rises.
The present that is shown in this exhibit is, curiously, nostalgic: its fragility takes us to a matter of reliance between the natural resources that have sustained us through time and ourselves, and also, as Nicanor Parra, the primary embraces the primitive and invites us to those exploited places to find the beauty of their stillness, their decay and decline.
PRIMORDIAL es una exposición desarrollada por TANAT, en colaboración con Sergio López y Nicolás Cuellar. TANAT es una práctica de arquitectura, arte e investigación dirigida por Diego Rivero Borrell Maass. Sergio López se especializa en fotografía de arquitectura, obras de arte y exposiciones. Nicolás Cuellar es cofundador y director editorial de Dharma Books + Publishing.
Ha publicado textos y antologías sobre poesía en revistas como Literal Magazine y Vallejo & Co. (Perú).