A few questions for the Chilean architect-design studio

Ask RuizSolar

This week, we've been looking at furniture designed by architects, thinking about the threads that run from the golden-age of modernist designer-architects—like Frank Lloyd Wright, Gio Ponti, and Eero Saarinen—to now. We decided to reach out to Chilean studio RuizSolar, who made one of the cool chairs listed in our Shop, to see how the past has inspired their forward-facing practice.

WC: What role does innovation and tradition play in your practice? Do you seek a balance between the two?

RS: We do not wish to innovate just for the sake of innovation; neither do we want to use tradition in a literal way. We look at history and the present situation, and then draw from both to solve the problem at hand in the most innovative way.

WC: Can you share your thoughts on the great tradition of modernist architect-designers?

RS: We are definitely influenced by the application of simplicity and rationalism that you see in the great proponents of International Style, particularly in the Bauhaus. Some of our favorite references are Marcel Breuer and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. As a personal reflection, I think the key to our simple, honest, and integrated designs comes from the perspective of restriction.

WC: What's on the horizon for your studio these days?

RS: Today we are getting ready to build two houses in the Chilean countryside. We're also developing a multi-unit residential building. On the design side, we are working on our "anti-cage" bird cage called HappyBirds, a seat we're calling MAS, our UpDown Lamp, and a new StickLamp L120 in steel.

Los Molinos General, Photo © Courtesy RuizSolar