Mexican architect Frida Escobedo, who is adding a new wing to New York’s Met Museum, has spoken of the importance of resistance and of proving the value of immigrants’ work in the city in light of US president Donald Trump’s policies.
Escobedo opened a New York studio, in addition to her studio in Mexico City, to work on the Met Museum project.
In an interview with Dezeen, she said her studio was lucky to have avoided the challenges it would have faced if Trump’s tariffs had been in place when they were trying to open the new office.
“We were incredibly lucky that that happened before this time – I don’t know if it would be possible right now to do it the same way,” she told Dezeen.
“It’s important to resist”
Escobedo, whose office works on projects across the world, and whose previous US projects include an Aesop store in New York, acknowledged the value that immigrants bring to the city.
“When we presented the project officially at the auditorium at the Met, I had a feeling that I had to acknowledge all the immigrant people that make New York City so great, and it’s really sad to see how that is becoming less evident,” she said.
“We see it every day, this city is a city of immigrants, it has always been. It’s important to resist and to prove the value of the hard work that all of us are doing.”
The 25 per cent tariff on goods imported from Mexico has restricted trade from the country to the US and is one of multiple tariffs imposed by the Trump administration.
While many of them are currently subject to a 90-day pause, that is not the case for Mexico and Canada, the US’s two closest trading partners. Experts have warned that sustainable architecture and affordable housing will be among the casualties of the tariffs.
In addition to tariffs, immigration policy has shifted under Trump, which has caused uncertainty, even among even professionals who hold visas to work in the US.
The portrait of Escobedo is by Karla Lisker.
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