BOND Diseñotel (español)

Biography

Born in Espírito Santo and currently based in São Paulo, Maria Luiza is an urban architect, researcher, and curator. Continuously seeking interdisciplinary approaches to the city, she works across the fields of Urbanism, Theory and Criticism, and Architectural Culture, intersecting with Black Studies and Sound Studies. She holds a master's degree in Geography from the Federal University of Espírito Santo and is a PhD candidate at the Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism at the University of São Paulo (FAUUSP), where she conducts the research "vi.bra.tion: ways of being and ways of doing the city through Afrodiasporic sonorities." In 2024, she was awarded a Brazilian scholarship as a visiting researcher at the Afrosonic Innovation Lab at the University of Toronto Scarborough. She is the founder and curator of vi.bra.tion, a platform dedicated to critical perspectives on the city, architecture and cultural practices. She was also a cofounder of Coletiva Terra Preta, a collective of Black women focused on multilingual narratives and curatorial processes aimed at de-whitening the city. In her practice, she also works as a professor at Escola da Cidade (São Paulo, Brazil), as a consultant for special projects, and explores her research through teaching, lectures, publications, and creative collaborations across disciplines.

Biography

I am a journalist with a specialization in semiotics and psychoanalysis, with a versatile career in communication, exploring various sectors and formats. I was the editor of Casa e Jardim magazine in Brazil, one of the country’s most relevant architecture and design publications, where I led an editorial transformation to align the brand with its slogan and narrative, emphasizing a more authentic, diverse, and authorial design approach. As a reporter and editor, I specialized in trend coverage with a focus on slow design and biomimicry.

I worked at WGSN as a trends researcher and forecaster and as a strategist at Purpose, an international communications agency focused on exploring future scenarios, anticipating change, and identifying opportunities and potential threats for positive socio-environmental impact, shaping cause-driven narratives and campaigns for brands.

In 2023, I founded ALAF – Associação Latina de Futuros, a space to think about and build sustainable and inclusive futures, highlighting Latin America's strengths in this field. Currently, my main research focus is on More-than-Human Futures and Deep Ecology.

Biography

My name is Martina Galarza, aka Marte (maar-tay).

I'm a Latin American Graphic Designer and Lettering Artist, inspired by 90's cartoons, graffiti, 60s psychedelia, and candy packaging from my childhood. I'm all about infusing fun and vibrancy into my designs, creating a perfect blend of nostalgia and contemporary cool.

I’ve been working freelance for 8 years in the music and entertainment industry collaborating with artists like Paul McCartney and Red Hot Chili Peppers and brands like Adobe, Nickelodeon, and YouTube.

Born and raised in Argentina, now based in NYC, a city that I'm deeply fascinated by. I studied graphic design at the University of Buenos Aires, and learnt Lettering from legends like Ken Barber and Jim Parkinson at Cooper Union and Guille Vizzari in Argentina.