Join Elias Kalach, architect, co-founder and creative director of Vertebral, as he explores the design philosophy and creative process behind a decade of work.
Architect Talk: Elias Kalach of Vertebral
Completed in 2021, Casa Escalera stands inside a forest near Valle de Bravo, Mexico, adapting to the natural topography of the site. Photo by Camila Sh.
Vertebral is an architecture studio known for its thoughtful use of materials and designs that respond to their surroundings. The firm approaches architecture as a way to highlight a site's existing character, incorporating elements such as reclaimed timber, existing structures and native landscapes into its projects. Primarily focused on residential work, the studio’s completed and ongoing projects span a range of settings, from urban neighborhoods to coastal, rainforest and desert environments.
Following the lecture, architect, curator and educator Iker Gil, founder of MAS Studio and the nonprofit MAS Context, joins Elias for a conversation about the role of art in architecture, Vertebral’s approach to contributing to Mexico’s modernist and contemporary design legacy and how architects can build partnerships beyond their clients to support design excellence.
Prior to the lecture, attendees are invited to a 5 p.m. reception outside the CAC Lecture Hall with light bites and refreshments.
Elias Kalach
Speaker Elias Kalach is an architect, artist and musician, and creative director of Vertebral, the studio he co-founded in Mexico City with Teddy Nanes. A graduate of the Universidad Iberoamericana, he begins each project by finding what a site already holds before he intervenes. Vertebral’s work has received the Cemex Building Award, AD México’s Design Icons and first place a thte Third Biennial of Young Architects, and has been a finalist for the Lisbon Triennale and the Oscar Niemeyer Award.
Iker Gil
Moderator Iker Gil is the founding partner of MAS Studio and the founder of the nonprofit MAS Context. Throughout his career, he has designed new buildings, interior renovations, and architectural installations. He has also developed his work as a curator, exhibition designer, editor, writer, educator, and an administrator. Gil has edited or coedited several books, including Radical Logic: On the Work of Ensamble Studio and Shanghai Transforming. He has curated multiple exhibitions, including Nocturnal Landscapes, Poured Architecture: Sergio Prego on Miguel Fisac, and BOLD: Alternative Scenarios for Chicago, part of the inaugural Chicago Architecture Biennial. He was cocurator of Exhibit Columbus 2020–2021 and associate curator of the US Pavilion for the 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale. Gil was the 2024 Victor A. Morgenstern Family Visiting Chair in Architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) along with architect Michel Rojkind. He has also previously taught at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), and the Escola da Cidade (São Paulo). From 2019 until 2026, he was the Executive Director of the SOM Foundation.
Speakers:
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On a quiet street next to Chapultepec forest in Mexico City, Casa Erasto blends effortlessly into the vegetated landscape. Photo courtesy of Studio Chirika.
What was once a rooftop and a laundry patio has been transformed into Gallery ÑÚ's permanent exhibition space, promoting contemporary art through multidisciplinary and itinerant projects. Photo by Cesar Belio.
Casa Tenue is the second oldest house in Colonia Roma, restored and transformed into an eight-room hotel, designed by Vertebral, with interiors by Habitación 116. Photo by Marcelo Rodríguez.
Located deep within the lush flora of the Oaxacan coast, Casa Ohana's minimalist structure and color palette work in conversation with the site's landscape. Photo by César Belio.
