A coat that can be used as a body bag and bird protection nests waterproofed with "cactus slime" are included in Dezeen's latest school show by students at Centro, a design and communication school in Mexico City.
Also included is a fashion project promoting children's cognitive development and a reinvented hospital gown designed to prioritise patients' dignity.
Centro de Diseño y Comunicacón
School: Centro de Diseño y Comunicación (Centro)
Courses: BA Film and Television, BA Industrial Design, BA Interior Architecture, BA Marketing and Strategic Design, BA New Media and Technology, BA Textile and Fashion Design and BA Visual Communication.
School statement:
"Centro is an urban model for higher education in design, architecture, digital media and film in Mexico City. Since its founding in 2004, it is Mexico's pioneer institution for higher learning in the field of creativity, providing its 2,500 plus students with the unique opportunity to transform their passion and talent into successful, cutting-edge professional careers.
"Centro focuses on the critical role of creativity in analysing and resolving problems of varied complexity in diverse contexts, using a human-centred and system-oriented approach. Centro makes creative experts with a socially conscious, sustainable, and entrepreneurial perspective through a specialised and personalised educational model.
"It offers undergraduate and graduates degree programs to future generations of creative leaders in Mexico and beyond. We are focused on creativity because we believe it is the key element to thrive in today's complex world and its intricate dynamic systems."
Feminist Punk by Ariadna Yamile Quintanar Ganem
"Feminist punk arose within the context of feminist struggles and the vicious retaliation that activists face when they speak up and denounce patriarchal violence against women.
"The project comprises a series of coats that have been designed with a dual purpose: as an efficient garment during a protest and as a body bag in the event of violent death.
"The twofold usage intends to raise awareness of the risks faced by the feminist movement in Mexico via a product that incorporates elements of both fashion and industrial design."
Student: Ariadna Yamile Quintanar Ganem
Course: BA Industrial Design
Tutors: Mariana Loaiza and Miguel Jaramillo
Emails: aquintanarg[at]centro.edu.mx
The Fifth Shadow by Gino Leyva del Real
"The Fifth Shadow is an interactive and speculative architecture animated essay that aims to reflect on various conditions of human existence and their temporality. It is a poetic and architectural exploration of the multiple edges of being alive.
"It is a journey through abstract structures located in the unconscious and involves dream-like spaces that project and reflect different experiences and memories.
"The architecture was designed to enhance the narrative voice and user experience. In the absence of visible characters, the spaces take on a guiding role through which events, affections and concerns are recreated."
Student: Gino Leyva del Real
Course: BA New Media and Technology
Tutors: Ana Rosa Gómez, Fernanda del Monte, Malitizin Cortés, Bruno DÃaz and Roberto Cabezas
Emails: gleyva[at]centro.edu.mx
Miniatura (Miniature) by Bibiana Mancilla Sánchez
"Miniatura uses fashion as a learning tool in early childhood, by representing the qualities of its visual forms that draw people's attention due to its structure's simplicity, balance and stability.
"By playfully activating the senses, the garments are a medium for self-awareness as well as objects and the environment.
"It is a fashion project focused on promoting children's sensory and cognitive development through dressing, an act that they perform daily."
Student: Bibiana Mancilla Sánchez
Course: BA Textile and Fashion Design
Tutors: Andrea Bores, Jimena Herrera, Judith Almazán and Isaac Guillermo
Emails: bmancilla[at]centro.edu.mx
Health Materialisation by Eduardo Rivas Martin del Campo
"This project stems from the interest of creating a one-of-a-kind and customised product that can materially present the health status of a person. The vases are developed using specific geometry and form, based on a personalised 27-element biometric evaluation done via parametric coding.
"The vase is, thus, not only a highly personalised aesthetic object but it is also a tangible archive of an individual's health in a particular moment in their life."
Student: Eduardo Rivas Martin del Campo
Course: BA Industrial Design
Tutors: Eduardo Duarte
Emails: erivasm[at]centro.edu.mx
Thinking Like Le Corbusier by Emma Cohen Mizrahi
"This project entails the application of Le Corbusier's architectural principles, as they are expressed in Shodhan Villa located in Ahmedabad, India, to a studio-home in Valle de Bravo, Mexico. The aim is to show that the architecture is designed from the inside out.
"Le Corbusier's principles stem from an analysis of the De Stijl movement and consider the simplification of forms and the lack of ornaments. In turn, the principles imply a special focus on furniture, contrasts, openness, colour expressiveness and the incorporation of the natural surroundings."
Student: Emma Cohen Mizrahi
Course: BA Interior Architecture
Tutors: Beata Nowicka and Luis Beltrán
Emails: ecohenmi[at]centro.edu.mx
Sahumados by Lorena Salgado Juárez
"Sahumados is a ready-to-wear clothing collection inspired by healing rituals. All the garments and pieces in the collection have been designed to offer a sensory experience and help users in their healing process.
"The outerwear clothes of the collection have a lavender scent to promote relaxation, and each piece has been created to ensure comfort and safety.
"The design was developed after exhaustive research of healing rituals which included a direct ritualistic experience in Tepoztlán, Mexico; this is reflected in the natural dye that was produced with flowers and herbs commonly used during these rituals."
Student: Lorena Salgado Juárez
Course: BA Textile and Fashion Design
Tutors: Andrea Bores, Judith Almazán and Isaac Guillermo
Emails: lsalgado[at]centro.edu.mx
1+1 by Regina Jimena MarÃn Rivero
"1+1 is a human rights project that aims to promote awareness amongst the female population in Mexico regarding their rights and the protocols they should follow in case of gender violence.
"The research process involved a rigorous design methodology that considered clear communication, aesthetic suitability, and accurate information regarding a topic of the utmost importance considering Mexico's violent history against women."
Student: Regina Jimena MarÃn Rivero
Course: BA Visual Communication
Tutors: Andrés Mario RamÃrez
Emails:Â rmarinri[at]centro.edu.mx
Hombre pájaro (Birdman) by SofÃa Mendoza DÃaz
"Hombre pájaro (Birdman) is an experimental project inspired by ancient techniques of vernacular architecture and focused on the preservation of birds in an urban environment. It involves a series of sustainable nests and feeders composed primarily of compressed mud, clays and plaster.
"The design included the evaluation of 35 different mixtures and the selection of three adequate ones to create resistant, handmade pieces.
"Each piece is waterproofed with cactus slime and lined internally with a mixture of horse manure and dark soil. They can individually be placed on different surfaces aided by three types of wooden supports."
Student: SofÃa Mendoza DÃaz
Course: BA Industrial Design
Tutors: Alejandra RodrÃguez
Emails: smendoza[at]centro.edu.mx
Ando: User-Centered Hospital Garments by Regina Abán Tapia
"Ando is a thesis project which had the aim of redesigning the traditional hospital gown and designing two different garments that can satisfy the patients' various needs.
"In contrast with current hospital garments, the proposals prioritise the patient's dignity by limiting unintended exposure and aiding in their physical recovery in a safe, comfortable and practical manner.
"The design process included interviews with four patients, four doctors and four nurses to understand and work towards satisfying the specific needs the designs should consider."
Student: Regina Abán Tapia
Course: BA Industrial Design
Tutors: Eduardo Duarte
Email: rabant[at]centro.edu.mx
Historical Building Additions According to Chipperfield by Lorena Esquivel Maldonado
"This project stems from the question: how to create a continuous dialogue between existing buildings and contemporary additions?
"It aims to assess the methodology and resources applied by David Chipperfield to historical buildings such as the Neues Museum and the Royal Academy of Arts.
"The proposal consists of an intervention on what used to be a hotel and arena dating from the XVIII century and which is now in ruins. The approach involved three steps: adding new sections to complete the original volume; treating, completing and adding finishes to the original sections; and space rehabilitation."
Student: Lorena Esquivel Maldonado
Course: BA Interior Architecture
Tutors: Luis Beltrán and Aldo Ecker
Email: lesquivelm[at]centro.edu.mx
Partnership content
This school show is a partnership between Dezeen and Centro de Diseño y Comunicación. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.