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Frida Escobedo is a Mexican architect, one that amassed great success from a young age. In the year 2018, at 38 years old, she became the youngest architect to design the Serpentine Pavillion in London’s Kensington Gardens. Now, she adds an even larger credit to her name, handpicked by New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art to build the new modern and contemporary art wing. Not only is she the first Latina to nail this achievement — she’s the first woman, period.
Escobeo is based on Mexico City and is an exciting voice in the industry, someone who’s creative and who has a wholistic approach to her designs, calling her spaces opportunities to blend cultures.
When speaking about the Met’s comission to the New York Times, Escobedo made it clear that she was excited about the opportunity and wasn’t afraid by the large burden.
“I like challenges. One of the dream commissions for any architect is to design an institution with the importance and relevance of the Met.”
Whe discussing the ideas behind her desings for the Met, she didn’t provide a lot of details, but she did explain an overarching theme. She wants her wing to “to connect to the rest of the museum, to connect with the park, to connect with the city and also to represent the cultural diversity of New York.”
Over her prolific career, Escobedo has worked in public and private comissions, from hotels to housing projects to museum comissions.
Frida Escobedo obtained her bachelor’s degree from the Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico, and her master’s degree from Harvard University’s school of design. She’s currently a teacher in Yale University. Her studio, which she founded, is based in Mexico.