ADA 2021: Héctor Esrawe on the jury

20 May 2021

The Mexican designer is back on the Archiproducts Design Awards jury

After 4 years, Héctor Esrawe, the well-known, multi-award-winning Mexican designer, is back on the jury, joining over 50 judges for the new edition of the Archiproducts Design Awards.

Héctor Esrawe was born in 1968 in Mexico City. From the youngest age, he was driven by a magnetic curiosity about every creative process. His incessant search to understand the relationship of an object in space led him to study Industrial Design. That is when his prolific career began.
In 1992, he obtained his degree in Industrial Design from the Universidad Iberoamericana (UIA). From 1997 to 2001, he was Professor of Design at the UIA before becoming Design Director at CENTRO Study House, where he created the Industrial Design program.

His innovative projects and ideas not only prompted him to open his own multidisciplinary design office, Esrawe Studio, in 2003 but also brought him a large number of awards and recognition.

Photo by Cadena Concept Design

Esrawe Studio – Photo Genevieve Lutkin

Esrawe’s work includes interior design projects, furniture, objects, architecture, public installations and museum design.

Héctor Esrawe, on the ADA 2021 jury, firmly believes in interdisciplinary collaboration. This is manifested in his work with other design and architecture studios, urban planners, artists, museum curators and set designers.

His enthusiasm drove him to establish other firms (EWE, VISSIO and MASA) to promote Mexican collectable design. He is also a founding partner of the Casa del Agua brand, which collects and filters rainwater before bottling it as naturally alkaline drinking water.

Some of his creations, like the Centípede bench and the Vestigios jewellery collection, are in the permanent collection of the High Museum of Art in Atlanta.

We asked Héctor Esrawe, back on the Archiproducts Design Awards 2021 jury after 4 years, a few questions about his view of the design world in light of the international situation, about innovation and about his expectations of the products he will be called upon to evaluate.

Héctor Esrawe on the ADA 2021 jury

What do you expect from the nominations for the 2021 Archiproducts Design Awards, and what features should the winning products have?
This year is unique in many ways. During these unconventional times, I am intrigued by how creatives understand and participate in the impact of design on creating solutions for better and more conscious work.

What role do you think a Design Award should play today?
More than ever, an Award should promote the values of our work so that people understand design as a tool for transformation and well-being.

How should contemporary design evolve to meet the needs of the community?
A good design should promote the conscious use of materials, an understanding of sustainable processes and solutions that allow communities to evolve.

In the post-pandemic era, how can design define a ‘new normal’?
For me, it is not a ‘new normal’. This pandemic has turned out to be a consequence, part of an overall scenario, a sequence of events that reflect our daily impact on the planet.

The emergency already existed. The pandemic is just one aspect of it.

The most considerable negative effect, as a society, is the destruction of our environment, and it really shows us the impact we have on our planet and how not taking care of it works against us.
We must transform and abolish attitudes that alter our world and impact it so negatively.

How do you think the pandemic has affected design?
We have learned many lessons. Hopefully, designers understand the importance of their role in shaping our profession as an activity that consciously creates and transforms people’s relationship with the world.

Registration for the 2021 edition of the Archiproducts Design Awards is open!