As a way to obtain a sample of participatory architecture from all over Mexico, last October, the Mexican Fine Arts Institute (INBA) published an open call for entries. Works by 31 teams?out of more than 200 registered?were selected to be part of Mexico?s Pavilion in the Venice Biennale, which was curated by Pablo Landa.

As a way to obtain a sample of participatory architecture from all over Mexico, last October, the Mexican Fine Arts Institute (INBA) published an open call for entries. Works by 31 teams?out of more than 200 registered?were selected to be part of Mexico?s Pavilion in the Venice Biennale, which was curated by Pablo Landa.Among the teams selected are Arquitectos Artesanos and RootStudio, both based in the city of Oaxaca. Works by these offices stand out because they recover and adapt traditional building techniques for new contexts, and because they are often realized through the collaboration of architects and organized communities.Clay Women The featured project by Arquitectos Artesanos is Clay Women (?Mujeres de Arcilla?). A decade ago, a group of catechist women visited the parish house in the city of Huajuapan, Oaxaca. Surprised by the spatial and visual qualities of this house, the women approached its architect?Juan José Santibáñez?to ask him for help in the design of their own houses in nearby rural communities.
Courtesy of INBA

They started working soon after: women learned how to make adobe bricks and put them together into elabo...