Blanco, Estudio Jochamowitz Rivera, and Ghezzi Novak
Lima, Peru
Blanco, Estudio Jochamowitz Rivera, and Ghezzi Novak are three independent studios based in Lima, Peru, working across architecture, design, and research. In different configurations, the three studios have collaborated on architecture, design, and editorial projects.
Founded in 2013 by Pamela Remy, Blanco is a design office focused on creative direction through a multidisciplinary lens. Its work spans art direction, editorial design, and branding for commercial, cultural, and corporate projects.
Estudio Jochamowitz Rivera, led by Mariana Jochamowitz and Nicolás Rivera, combines architectural design with academic research, teaching and editorial work. They are currently the editors of Revista A, the journal of the School of Architecture at PUCP. Their work has been exhibited internationally and nominated for the MCHAP Emerge prize.
Ghezzi Novak is an architecture office founded by Arturo and Gustavo Ghezzi Novak. Their practice approaches design from a proximity to the existing context and a particular concern for the multiple scales of the architectural project. Their recent work has been nominated for the MCHAP Emerge prize.
Together, the three studios recently presented El gigante incómodo (2025) at Liga DF in Mexico City, in collaboration with artist Percy Coila, commissioned to manufacture the installation’s main piece, and filmmaker Patricio Ghezzi.
2025 Biennial Project
Project Overview
The Uncomfortable Giant
Inspired by traditional benches made by the Uros people of Lake Titicaca, Peru, this installation is filled with reused plastic bottles to keep it light. It is an 87-meter-long roll of totora reeds that curls and twists inside the Chicago Architecture Biennial near Lake Michigan. The piece resembles a giant eel, symbolizing the feeling of being out of place. It traveled from Lake Titicaca, through Mexico City—which was once a lake—and now rests by Lake Michigan. Its twisted, segmented form reflects the fragility of nature as Lake Titicaca’s water levels fall due to climate change. Designed to survive its long journey, visitors are invited to sit, climb, and play on it, reshaping it over time. A video shares the story of its travels, highlighting the connection between local and global environments in a time of crisis.
Venue
View more840 N. Michigan Avenue
Address
840 N. Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60611
Description
The Biennial expands its footprint downtown with the opening of its fifth site at 840 N. Michigan Avenue, transforming more than 65,000 square feet of space on the Magnificent Mile into a dynamic hub for art, design, and dialogue.
