Meet Aidia Studio, the architects challenging the status quo

portrait of Aidia Studio founders — Rolando Rodriguéz-Leal and Natalia Wrzask, who founded Aidia Studio in 2018

(Image credit: FABIÁN MARTINEZ)

Rolando Rodríguez-Leal and Natalia Wrzask met in London in 2006. Before establishing their own practice, Aidia Studio, in 2018, the Mexican-Polish couple worked at leading international firms, including Zaha Hadid Architects and Ateliers Jean Nouvel. Now, their designs aim to blend environmental considerations with form-finding exploration, balancing ambitious, eye-catching looks with sustainability concerns and a contextual take.

Meet Aidia Studio, and its mind-bending architectural forms

‘Aidia’s approach is rooted in innovation and adaptability, informed by a sense of place,’ say the duo. ‘This ethos is reflected in a diverse portfolio that includes the Rifat Chadirji Prize-winning Barjeel Museum for Modern Arab Art in Sharjah, Pyeongchang Knowledge Hub in South Korea, and Rub’al Khali Oculus eco resort in Abu Dhabi.’

Rodríguez-Leal and Wrzask describe themselves as ‘natural researchers’. This feels apt when you look at their work, which often combines imaginative ways of building and material sourcing, bold computational design and biophilic references. One of their latest works, Mercado Nicolás Bravo, a crafts market in Yucatán, reflects this well.

‘We focused on tackling critical challenges like overheating by implementing a double roofing system that enhances air circulation and cross ventilation. The roof ’s design features an inverted umbrella system, leading to a dynamic arrangement of double curvature hyperbolic vaults. The outcome reflects the movement and rhythm of the surrounding natural environment.’

More recent work includes the Tulum train station with its striking grid-shell structure; the Parque Quintana Roo, a series of pavilions that turned a former fairground into a year-round public space; explorations on alternative redevelopment models for the historic hutong typology, displayed at Beijing Design Week 2012; and the aforementioned winning project for the Museum of Modern Arab Art in Sharjah in 2019, where they beat 190 entries submitted by 44 countries.

The pair consider the last two projects in particular as landmarks for their studio’s growth. Several public space works, as well as a range of ‘naked luxury’ hospitality constructions in Mexico and the Middle East are currently in the pipeline.

When asked what they would like to see more of in the architecture world, they say: ‘The capacity to leverage technology for the benefit of a new biophilic design agenda. We need to overcome the fatigue around the concept of sustainable architecture. We are advocating for the design of complex responsive systems at both the architectural and urban scales that bring us closer to nature, improve the quality of life, particularly in underdeveloped urban centres, and mend the damage done to the environment.’

aidia-studio.com

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Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture & Environment Director at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018), Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020) and House London (2022).