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July 5, 2020

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Engaging an interior aesthetic

Source: Shanghai Daily | 00:00 UTC+8 July 5, 2020 | Print Edition

WHO is she?

Natalia McLean is head of design for Uribe Schwarzkopf, a leading architectural planning, design and construction company in Quito, Ecuador. Over the past few years they have collaborated with some of the world’s leading architecture and design companies, including Arquitectónica–Bernardo Fort-Brescia (Peru-Miami), YOO Inspired by Starck (London), Wanders & YOO (Amsterdam), Carlos Zapata (Venezuela-Miami), Jean Nouvel (France), Moshe Safdie (Canada-Israel), Bjarke Ingels, and BIG (Denmark).

McLean has the honor of working with these international firms directly to achieve an interior aesthetic they have planned while engaging local craftsmen, materials and design.

She is passionate about her culture, history and design sensibility in Latin America, and brings a deep respect to her traditions and heritage to her work. She is originally from Colombia, and grew up in Medellin at a time when the city was essentially the center of a civil war.

Despite the horrors and tragedies the city suffered during this time, the people of Medellin remained strong and committed to change, and the city gradually changed — from one synonymous with drug violence to the winner of “THE CITY OF THE YEAR” in 2013, competing with New York and Tel Aviv. The culture in the Andes is one of resilience and constant transformation, and it is a point of constant inspiration to her.

Tell us some of your works, and name the one you are most proud of.

I am so proud of the work I’ve done with Uribe Schwarzkopf over the past few years. We are really changing the face of the city, elevating the quality of architecture across the board and working with local craftsmen to produce designs of leading international figures, which is quickly professionalizing informal craftsmen industries.

It has been incredible working with and leaning from designers and architects like Philipe Starck and Marcel Wanders, with the team of YOO, Jean Nouvel, Moshe Safdie, BIG. Each building has its own exciting elements, communal space, and incredible amenities, and while I am proud of them all individually the most important aspect of the work for me has been what we have done to change the way that people live, work and think about design across the city.

Are you currently involved with any project?

I am currently involved in many amazing projects with incredible local and international architecture studios. Two buildings with BIG are under construction, one of which will be the tallest building in Quito, an amazing residential project with Atelier Jean Nouvel and a very sophisticated tower with Moshe Safdie. We’ve been very busy! But I couldn’t be more excited to see all of these projects come to life.

Describe your design style.

It’s hard to say exactly, though my style is definitely eclectic and informal. I love for spaces to feel light, deeply considered, full of character and nature.

I almost always integrate elements from artisans and craftsmen into any space I design and like to bring the outside inside, to engender a deeper connection to nature.

I am deeply inspired by the nature and traditions of South America, having grown up in Colombia, the colors and patterns of the region make me feel most at home.

Similarly, I think being in sync with nature is one of the greatest comforts that could be offered. I grew up in a major city, but my family was involved in rescuing monkeys, so I grew up in an environment that fused wildlife and nature with urban life, and that balance is something I strive to recreate in everything I do.

Where are you most creative?

I am most creative when I am expressing myself, hearing my ideas come to life, expressing them to other people, I immediately have many other ideas spring forward. Working on a team — building ideas with collaborators, pushing back and forward, is the way sparks of creativity I have morph into fully realized creative projects.

What does your home mean to you?

My home is a refuge. It is a place of absolute freedom, where I allow myself to do whatever it is that occurs to me. It is also a very emotionally charged place, filled with my family, the most precious people to me, and the objects that embody the story of our lives together.

Everything I do and design, I do with this in mind — that home is the place that holds your most important inspirations, your greatest comforts and creates space for endless possibilities.

What do you collect?

I tend to collect objects that I can later use to create larger pieces.

For example, I love to collect necklaces. I love to make my own from beads I find and buy around the world.

I also love to collect old drawers, and save them to create pieces that work together, stacked or alone.

I also have a great collection of plant life — Quito is one of the world’s most bio-diverse cities, and I like to bring some of the strange and unexpected plant life that exists here into my everyday life.

What will be the next big design trend?

I think we are in an era where sustainability is finally of paramount importance throughout the globe.

I think we are entering into a time where authenticity will be most important. Designs that are honest — that embrace their source and materiality and that are made in a socially and environmentally responsible manner — are already the wave of the future.

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