Join us for an evening with Henry Muñoz, President and CEO of the architecture firm Muñoz & Company, and Alfonso Medina, architect and founder of T38 Studio, as they discuss the ways in which urban development can be a catalyst for economic growth and socio-political equality. Focusing on cities within the United States-Mexico border, Muñoz and Medina will explore how communities can grow responsibly while honoring local histories and traditions. Their presentations will be followed by a moderated discussion with Christina De León, Associate Curator of Latino Design at Cooper Hewitt.
Henry R. Muñoz III is a nationally respected voice in the discourse about the imprint of Latino culture and identity upon American society in the 21st century. A designer, social activist, opinion leader, philanthropist, and an architect of change, Muñoz works across multiple platforms that converge at the intersection of politics and the built environment. Under his leadership as Chairman of the Board and Chief Creative Officer of Muñoz & Company, the firm has transformed the skylines of the Southwest in the United States-Mexico border region. Under the three decades of his leadership, Muñoz & Company has pioneered an approach to architecture and design that acknowledges the rapidly shifting demographics of the United States. Muñoz & Company shapes the skyline and the landscape of the U.S.-Mexico Borderlands, practicing a community-based architecture in pursuit of a blended cultural expression that more fully reflects our multicultural reality.
Alfonso Medina graduated from the Instituto Tecnólogico de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM) with a degree in architecture, having also studied at the Universitat Politécnica de Catalunya. In 2005 he established Taller 38, focused in real estate development and construction, which to this day has built over 30 different housing projects. In 2009 he established T38 studio, an architecture, design, and research office based in New York City and Tijuana. In 2010 he graduated from the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-ARC) with a Master in Design and Research. From 2011 to 2012 he led architectural design studios at the Universidad Iberoamericana in Tijuana and was an assistant professor and guest critic at SCI-ARC. He has been an invited critic at the AA, Pratt, UCLA, and Columbia among others. From 2012 to 2013 he was a Visiting Professor in Architecture at the Ecole Speciale d’ Architecture in Paris. In 2013 he was awarded the Curbed Young Guns Award. In 2019 he cofounded Madelon Group, based in NYC, a startup focused on democratizing housing, where he currently serves as CEO.
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This program received federal support from the Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center.
