Mexico-born architect and urban designer Paola Aguirre Serrano set up Borderless Studio in 2016 in Chicago – and was joined by Illinois native Dennis Milam in 2019. Now, with offices in their home base and soon one in San Antonio, Texas, the duo lead a practice of five centred on ‘interdisciplinary projects, and connecting communities to design processes’.
The design and research studio is adept at looking at the intersections between art, architecture, urban design, infrastructure, landscape, planning and civic participatory processes – a skill the team put to good use in their varied projects.
Borderless Studio: ‘invested in spatial justice and equity’
Paola Aguirre Serrano and Dennis Milam of Borderless Studio,
‘We approach most of our work as a collaborative process, and we try to balance commissioned work and self-initiated projects that enable us to be responsive to the communities that we work with,’ says Aguirre.
‘Our practice is invested in spatial justice and equity – and we often prioritise working with organisations, groups and businesses working with or located in communities of colour.’
Exhibit Columbus installation.
Borderless’ body of work is expansive, for such a young practice. It spans a women-owned and Black-owned business storefront in Bronzeville, Chicago, focused on health and wellness services and products, called Haji Healing Salon; an outdoor pavilion inspired by temporary markets, weaved canopies and hyperbolic surfaces for the Chicago Architecture Biennial 2021; an open air installation for Exhibit Columbus 2019; a number of master plans; and Creative Grounds, a platform for actionable research to bring visibility to the closure of nearly 50 public schools concentrated in the West and South Sides of Chicago, flagging up issues of collaborative agency and social infrastructure.
Haji Healing Salon.
Indeed, the idea of the collective is central in Borderless’ approach and a recurring theme in all its projects. ‘We think the architecture field is missing more approaches that consider collectiveness and generosity as driving values,’ say the team. ‘The dominant narrative of architecture has been centred in individualistic efforts, and the single creative figure when we know how collective it is in practice – from ideation to implementation.’
Aguirre is a tireless campaigner of collective efforts and collective power – she is also co-founder of City Open Workshop (2016) and Design Trust Chicago (2020). The team often works with public agencies, city departments of planning or housing, and community-based organisations, aiming to instigate change and raise awareness for their goals.
Buena Vida project in development. Illustration: Borderless
The future seems bright for the studio. Aguirre and Milam are currently in the process of getting their San Antonio base up and running, from which they hope to engage more with border region communities, and be closer to Agguire’s hometown of Chihuahua. A public housing redevelopment in the border region is also in the pipeline, along with Chicago based schemes that seek to ‘broaden the possibilities and role of public art and public space in revitalisation in communities of colour.’
Haji Healing Salon.
INFORMATION
borderless-studio.com
-
Rio Kobayashi’s new furniture bridges eras, shown alongside Fritz Rauh’s midcentury paintings at Blunk SpaceFurniture designer Rio Kobayashi unveils a new series, informed by the paintings of midcentury artist Fritz Rauh, at California’s Blunk Space
-
New York restaurant Locanda Verde’s second outpost will transport you to a different time and placeLocanda Verde’s expansive new Hudson Yards osteria exudes a sophisticated yet intimate atmosphere overflowing with art treasures
-
LVMH watch week 2025: everything we know so farOur guide to LVMH Watch Week 2025, taking place in New York and Paris, starting 21 January; keep an eye out for our updates
-
LA Mayor Karen Bass outlines her plan for rebuilding the cityFollowing the devastating LA wildfires, which have destroyed more than 12,000 structures, the city’s mayor has outlined her plan for reconstruction
-
Frank Lloyd Wright’s Weisblat House, a Usonian modernist Michigan gem, could be yoursFrank Lloyd Wright’s Weisblat House in Michigan is on the market – a chance to peek inside the heritage modernist home in the countryside
-
Cabin House is a simple modernist retreat in the woods of North CarolinaDesigned for downsizing clients, Cabin House is a modest two-bedroom home that makes the most of its sylvan surroundings
-
A Texas ranch house blends Californian charm and Asian minimalism in a 'balance in hybridity'Pontious, a Texas ranch house designed by OWIU, is a home grounded in its owner's cultural identity, uniting Californian, Chinese and Japanese roots
-
The three lives of the Edith Farnsworth House: now, a modernist architecture icon open to allThe modernist Edith Farnsworth House has had three lives since its conception in 1951 by Mies van der Rohe; the latest is a sensitive renovation, and it's open to the public
-
Year in review: the top 12 houses of 2024, picked by architecture director Ellie StathakiThe top 12 houses of 2024 comprise our finest and most read residential posts of the year, compiled by Wallpaper* architecture & environment director Ellie Stathaki
-
A vacant Tribeca penthouse is transformed into a bright, contemporary eyrieA Tribeca penthouse is elevated by Peterson Rich Office, who redesigned it by adding a sculptural staircase and openings to the large terrace
-
We walk through Luther George Park and its new undulating pavilionLuther George Park by Trahan Architects and landscape architects Spackman Mossop Michaels opens to the public, showcasing a striking new pavilion installation – take a first look
