Unidad Vecinal: A Flexible Architecture Continuously Activated

What can it mean to live collectively? Unidad Vecinal rethinks traditional domestic space by introducing a flexible architecture that, rather than being merely inhabited, is meant to be continuously activated. Conceived as a mutable stage within LIGA’s gallery in Mexico City, the installation proposes an alternative to conventional domestic prototypes: a device shaped through collective transformation. Through varied uses—rest, work, gathering—it seeks to rehearse other forms of community.

Unidad Vecinal (in English, roughly translated as Neighborhood Unit) is conceived by Departamento del Distrito, a Mexican American office founded in 2017 by Francisco Quiñones and Nathan Friedman. Operating at the intersection of architecture, curatorial work, and academia, their practice has an expanded vision that explores multiple relationships between subjects, objects, technologies, and politics, articulating spatial inquiries that connect diverse scales, temporalities, and geographies.

Last month, after visiting Unidad Vecinal and meeting the architects in their office, Iker Gil interviewed Francisco Quiñones and Nathan Friedman to learn more about the installation at LIGA, the robust programmatic schedule they have proposed to activate the space, and how their exhibition work is informing their practice.

Iker Gil: How did your initial approach to Unidad Vecinal come to be?

Nathan Friedman: We received an email from Frida Mouchlian, Director of LIGA, back in July 2024 with an open invitation to exhibit something in the space. It is rare for an architect or a designer to approach a show at LIGA as a portfolio exhibition. It is more about creating new work, typically a 1:1 installation, that speaks to a position toward the field of architecture or a way of thinking about what it means to design today.

Francisco Quiñones: As Nathan says, LIGA’s approach is more like, “We are interested in your work, we are interested in what we have seen, and we’d like you to make an intervention in this space.” It is exciting because there are very few galleries for architecture that work that way.

LIGA was established in 2011, so it already existed when I was studying architecture, and featured the work of offices that I admired. Personally, it was meaningful to receive an invitation from them, not to mention the unique opportunity and exposure that it brings to a young office.

We first started to think about the project by looking at the history of LIGA, which is extensive, and understanding what had been done previously by architects in the space. There is always a component of wanting to do something different, not repeating what has been done in the past. I am generalizing now, but basically there have been two kinds of exhibitions at LIGA: ones where there is an object that sits in the gallery, and others that transform the gallery through an immersive installation. From the beginning, we had the second path in mind, but we didn’t know where that would lead us.

NF: While we were working on the project for LIGA, we opened an exhibition at Proyector [Building Management: Consumed by Use] that showed our research on modernist-era preservation. The exhibition was object-based, and we displayed a series of maps, archival documents, and physical artifacts. Six case studies were presented, each speaking to a different theme of preservation. The idea is that through the case studies, certain theories or methods for preservation can be extracted that might be applied toward contemporary practice.

With Unidad Vecinal, we wanted to take a totally different approach. Because it was going to be presented in another Mexico City gallery we wanted to make sure we were showing a different side of our practice. Francisco and I focused on creating an experimental prototype at the scale of 1:1 that blurred the lines between architecture, interiors, and industrial design.

We also knew that we wanted the piece to tie into contemporary debates on housing and public space, which is an important topic for the current federal administration. This engagement with public work is something that we have experience doing through five public projects in Tultitlán, which we designed and built over the past several years.

During initial discussions we thought, “what if we physically inhabited the space?” We liked the idea of a gallery as a place that was occupied and lived in, a space that could welcome a broad audience and break down that wall between the exhibitor, what is being exhibited, and the visitor, making a nice messy mix of things. It was an opportunity to test a new prototype, to put it up against some real-life frictions that you typically wouldn’t encounter in a standard white cube/no touch gallery setting.

IG: How did you begin to think about the type of relationships, not only the spaces, that you wanted to foster? What was your own personal prompt to envision these new unconventional gatherings?

NF: Certain things are fixed at the start. You know that there will be an opening, and you know that there will be a closing. You also have to work with the setting, Laguna [a former textile factory refurbished as a creative hub, in the Doctores neighborhood of Mexico City], and the LIGA gallery space within that larger complex. For us, the question became how to unsettle a more traditional approach to public programming through a range of unconventional events. We organized a shared dinner, a ping-pong tournament, an open bar with karaoke, a portfolio workshop, and two movie nights. And the piece transforms and takes a different position in the gallery to accommodate all of these events. We also have a roundtable discussion and a publication launch scheduled, which are more standard.

The real goal is to attract a broad public audience to Laguna, who might even be first-time visitors to LIGA. We want to play with qualities and perceptions that are almost uncanny. There are familiar elements embedded in the construction, but they are assembled and utilized in unfamiliar ways. We believe this has the potential to push Unidad Vecinal into new territory, both spatially and socially.

FQ: Since we started our practice, we have been interested in the everyday, almost utilitarian aspects of design. Living and working in Mexico City, many things just happen. They almost erupt, coming out of nowhere. There is this aspect of the city that is completely unpredictable, which we like and try to bring into our projects. LIGA is a perfect opportunity for that. We wanted to erase the formality of the gallery, enjoy the space, and have fun through collective activities.

We also teach and have a constant connection with students. We actively look for new ways to engage in a group setting in a more horizontal way. Often, this leads us to incorporate an aspect of play, or at least playfulness, into the work.

IG: In the dichotomy of installations that you mentioned earlier, between the object and the immersive experience, this one fits somewhere in between. It is an object, but not a precious object. And it is not immersive in the sense that you still read the room. It reads more of an infrastructure that is waiting for something to happen. The materials are off-the-shelf, very familiar, but they are arranged in an unfamiliar way. When you see the exhibition without being activated with the programs you mentioned, you ask yourself: “This is in a height that I can sit on it, but is this a sitting area or not?” There was an ambiguity what you could do and about these off-the-shelf materials that I found super interesting.

NF: I love those questions that, all of a sudden, start to be posed like, “Should I?” “Can I?” “What is going on?”

One aspect that guided our thinking throughout the development of the exhibition was that the piece should do everything. The only thing that is on the wall is one drawing, which we see as a catalog of possibilities for Unidad Vecinal. Other than that, we were careful not to put anything on the walls. Even the lighting is attached to the piece, it is part of it. Whenever we needed to add an element, we asked ourselves, “How might that thing attach or plug-in to the overall infrastructure and not appear as an extra element outside of the Unidad?”

FQ: I like that you bring up infrastructure as a way to read the piece. In other projects that we have developed recently—both architecture and exhibitions—we have been interested in both the potentials and the tensions that there are between infrastructure and architecture. Most of the time, architects think of infrastructure as something that is not precious, and for good reason. It’s typically not be finished, soft, or cozy. However, we are big fans of certain types of infrastructures, of different scales, that are highly designed, extremely beautiful, and even comfortable. On top of that, what we are really interested in is the flexibility and potential that infrastructure provides for use and inhabitation.

This interest started a long time ago, but it has been growing steadily. It was cemented by the public projects that we developed in the last few years for Tultitlán, for the PMU [Urban Improvement Program], and for SEDATU [Secretariat of Agrarian, Territorial and Urban Development]. There was a small budget, and we needed to act quickly with a simple design solution. Our approach was to design infrastructure at the scale of a building that worked with a shared set of rules and facilitated flexibility—both in terms of construction and the future use or appropriation of the spaces by users. Amid that, we also designed other installations like When Models are Systems that was produced for the 2022 Architectural League Prize. That project sought the lightest possible intervention that could have the maximum effect, which in that case was to both monitor and produce an exterior environment. That is how we began entering the conversation of infrastructure in the LIGA gallery.

IG: The installation is accompanied by a publication that will be launched in October. How are you approaching this aspect of the exhibition?

FQ: As part of each show at LIGA, participants typically invite someone to write about their work. Because of the nature of Unidad Vecinal, because it is about collectivity, we thought that it would be nice to open that process up. Instead of focusing on the work of our office, we reached out to a number of architects, artists, and historians to write short pieces about what it means to live collectively today.

Collectivity is always an evolving question in architecture, but I think that now, more than ever, collectivity is being challenged in so many ways. Opening that question up to a multiplicity of voices was really exciting. Many of the responses we received from architects challenge the dichotomy between private and public space. Other responses explore the topic through social structures and caregiving, for example the way we relate to one another through everyday tasks like cooking and sharing a meal.

NF: People continue to ask and pose questions around collectivity, of how we can live together, because they are vital to the future of our communities, our cities, and the planet as a whole. Today, social life has become increasingly siloed and atomized. The impacts and detrimental effects are very real.

FQ: It is also why the exhibition asks what collective living can be or become, engaging a future-minded design imaginary that is speculative. To live collectively today is not the same as living collectively five years ago.

NF: Our work often engages with contemporary social and political topics. However, when designing an installation, an exhibition, or a piece of architecture, it is important to us that the project can operate on multiple registers. The first register is design. How does the piece take on material, construction, and spatial relationships in a way that feels new, productive, and thoughtful? Can it be engaged in a number of different ways by a broad public? Then come the larger, disciplinary topics that we are in conversation with and are ultimately trying to influence.

IG: It operates on many levels. Someone can take it at face value and casually enjoy it visually, while other might explore the themes further and help open all those conversations.

And I thought it was very interesting how you thought about the publication. The installation is an infrastructure for others to enjoy and now the book is for others to share their responses. The publication and the installation are two different formats of the same approach which, I think, works great.

NF: We are excited about the publication. I hope it is something that will be meaningful for others, too.

IG: Unidad Vecinal is a way to test how you can engage with people in different ways. What impact could this new type of domestic space have outside the gallery? I am curious about the translation between what you are testing in a controlled space, the lessons you learn, and how that might translate into other buildings being designed in your practice.

NF: That is a big question. There is something that comes along with an invitation from LIGA that allows you to operate in a pure zone of design. It has been refreshing to work within this highly open and experimental space of the gallery, so we have not been too concerned with immediate “real world” applications. But there are a few different models of how the project might be translated outside the physical gallery space, and this also gets back to the publication. As Francisco mentioned, a lot of the architects who contributed wrote about the false dichotomy between public and private space. These categories, which have become fixed within a developer logic, are traps for contemporary society. They are basically dead ends. So how do you start mixing all these different realms in a way that feels more authentic while also building community in a way that is lasting and meaningful? How can infrastructure scale up to be many things—housing, circulation, common space? That is an interesting question. I don’t know what the answer is, but we will continue to explore the ideas through our work.

FQ: It is too early to know exactly what lessons we will learn from the project, precisely because we have only had three events or “activations” this far.

Along the lines of what Nathan was saying, because of its transformative qualities, the piece is so open-ended that you really don’t know what the results will be. You can think of the installation like a stage. I don’t go to the theater that often, but for me, the most interesting stage sets are those that do not overpower the scene; they are just enough to support and provoke the situation that is playing out.

IG: It is interesting that this is not an activation of a public space. It is actually challenging the way you would inhabit or relate to a space, whether it is what we call private, public, or any other type of space. It is about exploring what type of elements you need to support life.

I am interested in how you mediate that as a community. What type of new arrangements do you have to have in place? How do you envision these types of relationships taking place? How much is designed at the end of the day, or where does design enter the conversation?

Maybe in this case, Unidad Vecinal is 50% object and 50% public programming. That seemed to be an important decision from the beginning. Can you talk about the design approach to the object itself?

NF: The base structure is a hexagon composed of six different frames, all linked together through operable hinges. While the frames share common dimensions (1.6m wide by 2.5m tall), they each have individual details that make them unique. Some have additional supports that allow planks to be added for seating or storage, others have curtain rails, built-in lights, or polycarbonate screens. The large wall drawing, a catalog of possibilities, shows that these different frames can be arranged in a number of different ways that in turn support different programs or modes of inhabitation. The drawing becomes a space of speculation that extends the project into the realm of the hypothetical. Components are multiplied and the system is expanded to form an entire neighborhood.

Then, there is the public programming that we spoke about. The management of the piece is a design project in itself.

IG: These are off-the-shelf materials that, traditionally, are used in different ways within the built environment. I believe some of the people who work in these companies that donated the materials came to see the installation. I’d like to know if, through your installation, people see their materials in an expanded way, learning about new ways their materials can be used.

FQ: LIGA has a series of sponsors and companies that donate materials for each exhibition. We worked with Cuprum Eurovent, a large Mexican aluminum extrusion company that produces window frames and façade systems. They were the perfect match for us.

In 2023, we tested a related idea for a group exhibition called The Many Lives of Arata Isozaki’s Shinjuku White House. We were asked to look at the archives of Arata Isozaki and design a small piece to be sited in his first built work, a small house and studio in Tokyo. Inspired by the robots Deme and Deku that Isozaki designed for Expo 1970 in Osaka, we made a small “transformer” out of aluminum C-channels. It could be used in many different ways: as a ladder, podium, storage cabinet, and display pedestal.

For Unidad Vecinal, we had the opportunity to visit Cuprum’s manufacturing plant in Tlalnepantla and learn about the aluminum extrusion process firsthand. It was fascinating. We also developed the installation design in conversation with a few members of the Cuprum team, who proposed specific aluminum sections that might be appropriate for the piece and also did a structural analysis. While the final goal may not have been clear to them while the project was under development, I think they were actually really excited about it in the end. It is just so strange—to them—to use the material that they make in this way.

NF: Every company that is paired with LIGA has to have an innate interest, or at least understanding, that if you put your materials with designers, then additional opportunities might be opened up through that process.

Something that we are hoping will actually grow from the project is an additional collaboration with Cuprum. We are not going to fabricate the whole piece, of course, but certain elements at the scale of an industrial design object—a bench or a light—can be tested. We’d like to enter at that scale and, hopefully over time, certain things can develop into a larger project.

IG: You have had the opening of the exhibition as well as a dinner last week. What are other programs that you have planned until the end of the installation?

FQ: Yes, we started with the inaugural event, which was a talk and presentation, and we just had a shared dinner last week. The piece unfolded to become a long table that sat around twenty-five people. After that, we are holding a student portfolio workshop; we teach independent courses here at the office and we have a mid-review this Saturday at LIGA. There is the presentation of the publication that we spoke about, as well as a couple of movie nights where the piece turns into a small theater. We are just going to lay down, watch a movie, and have some popcorn. We have the ping pong tournament with two side-by-side ping pong tables. That will be interesting. There is also an open bar and karaoke night, which will coincide with the Mextrópoli festival.

What is nice is that the number of programs is actually increasing. People have already asked to use Unidad Vecinal for an event, lecture, conversation… they are proposing new activities and uses for it.

NF: People also think that it would be great for a DJ booth. They want to have a big party.

IG: It is great that you created the stage for all these things to happen.

In terms of your practice, it is interesting that at the time you were doing Unidad Vecinal, you were doing the installation Building Management: Consumed by Use at Proyector as well as the installation Light Gauge at Material & Application in Los Angeles. Three simultaneous installations for three different organizations. I’d like you to share the impact that these installations have had in your office and how you are testing things through installations. What are the impacts and the benefits for your practice?

NF: It is a total luxury to have these three projects going on at the same time. Each one has allowed us to operate in a pretty pure space of design, and that is rare. Both of the projects in LA and Mexico City explore how we can design new infrastructural systems that support public programming and activities, but in completely different ways and contexts. It has been productive. It has also been an opportunity to collaborate with structural engineers to develop these systems from the ground up. The pavilion in LA [Light Gauge], for example, adapts telecom tower components. They are used as the base structural unit for two space frames that sit above the Craft Contemporary Museum courtyard. We worked with the US-based company Rohn Towers and the LA firm NOUS Engineering for that project. They were fantastic.

In terms of producing new ideas and generating built work, it has been a really, really wonderful moment for us. Our hope is that many of these things that have been tested as a prototype at 1:1 can now be applied toward future projects.

FQ: It has been an incredible amount of work, and it is work that happens mostly here [points to his head]. It is in your head. It is intellectual. All of these projects challenged us, which I think is great. Sometimes, with more conventional work, there is no space for that. Writing also accompanied these projects in some form and, as you know, it is something that takes a long time to get right. You need to be in a very specific place to be able to do it well.

IG: There is something very unique about having three exhibitions at the same time. It is an intense moment, versus developing that work in a more gradual way. On the one hand, I can imagine that it is very taxing but, on the other hand, you are able to test many things in a short period of time.

NF: We will be processing this work for a long time. All of these projects are open-ended in different ways. You don’t necessarily know what the final products will be for any one of them. You also don’t know what you are going to get from them intellectually, how they might influence the practice later, or who might be interested. You just don’t know. That is something we are looking forward to exploring now that most of the work has been done: taking a moment to pause, to process the material, and to see what comes next.

IG: Is there an afterlife for Unidad Vecinal once the exhibition at LIGA closes?

FQ: We hope so. There have been some discussions about this with Frida [Mouchlian], LIGA’s director. One idea is to bring it back to its “origins,” to Cuprum’s headquarters in Monterrey. There is a contemporary art museum, the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Monterrey (MARCO), that hosts parties, so Unidad Vecinal could become a DJ booth or something else to activate the museum.

Hopefully it will travel. Maybe it will end up at our office together with all the infrastructures that we have there, but we would love to have this piece be used elsewhere and by other people in many different ways.

NF: Unidad Vecinal has a contemporary life, and in an ideal scenario it will continue to evolve. It is not static, not fixed, not bogged down by some romantic notion of what architecture is or should be. That sort of embedded potential is important for us.