Michel Rojkind (born December 18, 1969, in

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

) is the founding partner of Rojkind Arquitectos and according to Forbes Life a representative of a Mexican generation of architects transforming the country. His office was recognized by

Architectural Record ''Architectural Record'' is a US-based monthly magazine dedicated to architecture and interior design. Its editor in chief is Josephine Minutillo. ''The Record'', as it is sometimes colloquially referred to, is widely-recognized as an important ...

in 2005 as one of the best ten Design Vanguard firms.

Early life

Rojkind has two sisters and a brother. His father, Marcos Rojkind Matlyuk, was a professor, doctor and an expert on hepatic fibrosis and winner of the

National Prize for Arts and Sciences (Mexico) The National Prize for Arts and Sciences () is awarded annually by the Government of Mexico in six categories. It is part of the Mexican Honours System and was established in 1945 by President Manuel Ávila Camacho to promote the country's artistic ...

. While his father taught at the

Albert Einstein College of Medicine The Albert Einstein College of Medicine is a Private university, private medical school in New York City. Founded in 1953, Einstein is an independent degree-granting institution within the Montefiore Einstein Health System. Einstein hosts Doc ...

, the family lived in

The Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

and

Scarsdale, New York Scarsdale is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Westchester County, New York, United States. The Town of Scarsdale is coterminous municipality, coextensive with the Village of Scarsdale, but the community has opted to operate ...

, for three years.

Trajectory

Michel Rojkind was born in

, where he took courses in Architecture and Urban Planning at the

Universidad Iberoamericana The Ibero-American University (), also referred to by its acronym ''UIA'' but commonly known as ''Ibero'' or ''La Ibero'', is a private, Catholic, Mexican higher education institution, sponsored by the Mexican province of the Society of Jesus ( ...

(1989-1994). In 1981 he joined singer Alek Syntek as a drummer. In 2002 he founded Rojkind Arquitectos; since then, the firm has been on a strong path and exploration of architectural programs and building techniques, successfully translating the complex forms of these new ideas into realities that can be built with local manufacturing skills. He has been short-listed to participate in several large-scale international projects, in Mexico, Canada, Kuwait, China, Dubai, Singapore and Spain. He has been a visiting professor at the Southern California Institute of Architecture (

SCI-Arc Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc) is a private architecture school in Los Angeles, California. SCI-Arc was founded in 1972 when it was initially regarded as both institutionally and artistically avant-garde. It consists of ...

) in L.A. and at the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IACC) in Barcelona. Rojkind has participated as juror for several international awards and competitions and has lectured in many different countries. “We generate strategies that enhance the designs final result, nowadays a design proposal needs to find its full potential, it needs to have an added value, give something back to society...” Michel Rojkind Rojkind has gained international acclaim by being featured in numerous well-known architectural publications. In 2011, he was named by Wallpaper* magazine as one of the “150 Movers, Shakers and Makers That Have Rocked the World in the Last 15 Years.” The

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

named Michel Rojkind among the “Faces to Watch in 2010". Also in 2010, Rojkind was selected by the Architectural League of New York as “Emerging Voices". His recent lectures at international conferences have also brought the firm notoriety:

magazine’s “Innovation”, 2011;

TEDx TED Conferences, LLC (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is an American-Canadian non-profit media organization that posts international talks online for free distribution under the slogan "Ideas Change Everything" (previously "Ideas Worth Sprea ...

, 2010; and 3rd Holcim Forum for Sustainable Construction in 2010, World Architecture Festival ( WAF) in 2013 an
Design Indaba
during 2014. Perhaps two of the most meaningful commendations Rojkind has received are from his native country. In 2010, Rojkind was named as one of the “Country’s Treasured Architects” by the Mexican Civil Registry, he was featured b
ProMexico
Magazine as one of the “50 Mexican Names in the Global Creative Scene” and “..one of the most influential architects of contemporary Mexican scene” in 2013 by ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

'' magazine.

Awards and nominations

Michel Rojkind’s design for the Nestlé Chocolate Museum, Toluca, Mexico was awarded the International Architecture Award (2008) as one of the best realized designs around the world in 2007, and was nominated for the British Museum Award (2008) for the ten best buildings of 2007. He has contributed to Contemporary Corporate Architecture (2009), Phaidon Atlas of 21st Century Architecture (2009) and Open House: Architecture and Technology for Intelligent Living (2006).

Works

Some of Rojkind's projects include: * Casa F2, in Atizapan de Zaragoza, Greater Mexico City (2000) * Casa pR34, in Tecamachalco, Greater Mexico City (2003) * Falcón I Headquarters (2006) * Nestlé Chocolate Museum near Toluca (2007) * Nestlé Application Group in Querétaro (2009) * Extension to the Rufino Tamayo Museum, in collaboration with

BIG Big or BIG may refer to: * Big, of great size or degree Film and television * Big (film), ''Big'' (film), a 1988 fantasy-comedy film starring Tom Hanks * ''Big'', a 2023 Taiwanese children's film starring Van Fan and Chie Tanaka * ''Big!'', a ...

(design phase) * Portal of Awareness, Nescafe (2011) * Tori Tori restaurant in Polanco, Mexico City (2011) * Reforma 232 apartment building, Mexico City * Falcón II Headquarters * del Siglo XXI, Mexico City *

Chedraui Chedraui (Chedraui Group) is a publicly traded Mexican grocery store and department store chain which also operates stores in the U.S. in the states of California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and Nevada under the banner name El Super and stores ...

hypermarket, Santa Fe, Mexico City () * Liverpool (department store) façade,

Avenida de los Insurgentes Avenida de los Insurgentes (), sometimes known simply as Insurgentes, is the longest avenue in Mexico City, with a length of on a north-south axis across the city. Insurgentes has its origins in what was during the early 20th century known as ...

Colonia del Valle Colonia Del Valle ( Spanish: ''Del Valle neighborhood'') is a Colonia in the Benito Juarez borough of Mexico City. Founded as an aristocratic recreational neighborhood during the Porfiriato era, it has witnessed the various transformations ...

, Mexico City, 2010 *Liverpool department store Paseo Interlomas, Huixquilucan, Greater Mexico City *

Mercado Roma Mercado Roma ("Roma market") is a Marketplaces#Types, public market in the format of a gourmet food hall located on Querétaro street in the Colonia Roma Norte neighborhood of Mexico City. The market stalls offer organic and other food products fo ...

, Colonia Roma, Mexico City, 2013

Other Activities

With Arturo Ortiz Struck, Derek Dellekamp and Tatiana Bilbao, Michel Rojkind established MXDF Urban Research Center (2004). The aim of the non-profit organization is to intervene in specific areas of the urban development, modifying the production of urban space in Mexico through the systematic study of social, political, environmental, global and cultural conditions. He has been a jury member at World Architecture News (WAN), World Architecture Festival (WAF), and the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC) “Self Sufficient City” competition. He also presented a keynote address at the 3rd International Holcim Forum 2010 in Mexico City.

References

External links

Rojkind Arquitectos

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rojkind, Michel 1969 births Mexican architects Jewish architects Mexican drummers Mexican male musicians Male drummers Artists from Mexico City Universidad Iberoamericana alumni Mexican people of Russian descent Mexican people of Ukrainian descent Mexican people of Jewish descent Mexican people of Norwegian descent Living people