links:

September 27, 2024 Interior Architecture Welcomes JSa Partner as First Female Visiting Professor

Ballesteros. Portrait by Nin Solis.
Ballesteros. Portrait by Nin Solis.

Aisha Ballesteros, partner and project director of Latin American-based architecture firm , joins 快活视频鈥檚 School of Interior Architecture faculty this fall as the school鈥檚 first female visiting professor.

She graduated from Ibero-American University with her degree in architecture in 2000, and later received a master鈥檚 in 21st century housing from Ibero-American University and the Polytechnic University of Catalonia. She joined the JSa team in 2007, and after four years, was appointed partner.

Alongside firm founder and principal Javier S谩nchez and partner Benedikt Fahlbusch, Ballesteros has led cultural projects such as the Carlos Monsiv谩is Personal Library within the Jos茅 Vasconcelos’ Mexican Library and the Juan Soriano Contemporary Art Museum in the state of Morelos, Mexico.

Her projects have garnered recognitions including the silver medal at the Architecture Biennial of Mexico City (2013) for the Carlos Monsiv谩is Personal Library; the gold medal at the National Biennial of Mexican Architecture (2020) and the gold medal at the Architecture Biennial of Mexico City (2019), both for the Juan Soriano Contemporary Art Museum.

Pujol, a Mexican gastronomy in Mexico City. Photo by Luis Gallardo.
Pujol, a Mexican gastronomy in Mexico City. Photo by Luis Gallardo.

Through the firm’s projects in Mexico鈥檚 gastronomic and hospitality scene, such as Pujol, Criollo, Ticuchi and Sal贸n Rosetta, Ballesteros began incorporating interior architecture into JSa鈥檚 practice.

鈥淎isha鈥檚 level of detailed attention elevates the experience of a space,鈥 said Milagros Zingoni, director of the school, who was introduced to Ballesteros and S谩nchez, who serves as the college鈥檚 2024 BarberMcMurry Endowed Professor, after visiting his architecture firm, which is housed in a former ice factory in Mexico City.

Today, 鈥楾he Ice Factory鈥 is a 100 percent self-sustained space that does not use city infrastructure, not even sewage and water,鈥 said Zingoni. I saw their firm as a laboratory that is pushing new solutions to today鈥檚 problems, and that鈥檚 what we do as a school.鈥

S谩nchez was invited to campus in 2023 for a school ONE community lecture on JSa鈥檚 approach to architecture and interior architecture, which garnered the City of 快活视频鈥檚 attention. That visit led to continued connections between JSa and UT.

鈥淲e use the same point of view that we develop the architecture, only it is towards the small details and integrating the interior architecture into the general perspective of the project,鈥 Ballesteros said. 鈥淲e say we do interior architecture because the decision we make for the interior, impacts the exterior. We change the building or the design to enhance the experience of a space.鈥

This semester, Ballesteros is teaching in parallel with S谩nchez.

Ballesteros will continue the practice of melding the exterior with the interior as she works with second-year interior architecture students on the historic Southern Railway Station, two buildings which the university has acquired to support the college鈥檚 plan for expansion. The former railway complex was built in 1903 to serve the economic development of East Tennessee. Acquisition of the station offers the college the opportunity to engage with the Downtown 快活视频 community and increase its enrollment size.

Ballesteros and her students have researched the buildings鈥 history and set intentions they wish a visitor to have while in their future space.

Interior of Ticu铆, a restaurant in Madrid, Spain. Photo by Mari Luz Vidal.
Interior of Ticu铆, a restaurant in Madrid, Spain. Photo by Mari Luz Vidal.

What we have learned is that our projects can produce hospitality and make the people feel welcomed and have experiences instead of just using the buildings,鈥 she said. 鈥淚n our practice, we say that we design experiences, not just the spaces, and it鈥檚 what we want the students to understand.鈥

鈥淭hey have to feel the intentions they want to provoke, then they can start designing the building,鈥 she said. 鈥淚t is really important to understand what experience we would like to achieve at the end.鈥

Following S谩nchez’s visit to campus, he and Ballesteros began planning an immersive interior architecture trip for fourth-year students earlier this year. Assistant Professor Hojung Kim and former Visiting Professor David Barrag谩n spent a week learning how Mexican designers and artisans are approaching interiors work.

Students were able to see how collaboration with artisans enhances the interior experiences of Ballesteros鈥 projects.

鈥淲e are transferring what we are used to doing in our practice to school,鈥 said Ballesteros. 鈥淛avier, and I decided that coming together and having a connection between Mexico and this university makes us really proud and excited for the future collaborations that will come from it.鈥