About
DONIS is an international studio of architecture, urbanism, research, industrial design, and art. The studio has won several international prizes, including the Dubai Frame, selected as the first-prize winner from 926 proposals in an international competition regulated by UNESCO-UIA; the first prize for the National Palace of Justice in Paris; and the winning design for a new landmark for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games at the City of London. DONIS designs, develops, and builds projects across a wide range of scales and programs, consistently pursuing innovative, sustainable, and socially engaged architecture. DONIS was founded by Fernando Donis, Mexican Dutch architect who received his Master’s degree from the Architectural Association in London through the Design Research Laboratory (DRL), where he studied under Patrik Schumacher and Brett Steele. He also received a PhD in Architecture from Delft University of Technology (TU Delft), through the doctoral research program The City as a Project, led by with Pier Vittorio Aureli. His doctoral research, FRAME, is a five-chapter study of the archetype of the frame and its role in the architectural and urban history and culture of Mexico. Following his studies at the Architectural Association, Fernando Donis worked closely with Rem Koolhaas as an Associate at the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) for nine years, from 2001 to 2009. During this period, he was the main designer of the CCTV Headquarters in Beijing, among numerous other architectural projects and masterplans. He also collaborated with AMO, OMA’s research and design branch, contributing to research projects concerning the European Union. Fernando Donis has taught at the Berlage Institute and the Academy of Architecture in Rotterdam, as well as at Universidad Iberoamericana and Universidad Anáhuac in Mexico, integrating architectural research, design, and urbanism across multiple scales. His work and career have received international recognition. In 2011, CNN Expansión selected him as one of the 30 most promising and influential people in Mexico. In 2015, Mexico’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs selected him as one of the country’s most creative Mexicans living abroad.
The Global Polis
Ubicación – Mundo
Año – 2013
Programa – Ciudad
Escala – Global
Cien años después de que Otto Neurath introdujera el lenguaje visual Isotype, habitamos una Global Polis gráfica, donde los pictogramas se han convertido en una forma universal de comunicación. Si Neurath transformó la manera en que entendemos la información, proponemos extender esa lógica más allá del diseño gráfico hacia la arquitectura y el urbanismo: un lenguaje físico capaz de conectar a la humanidad respetando al mismo tiempo el planeta.
El proyecto imagina una megaestructura global —la Retícula Oblicua Global— que se convierte en la propia ciudad mediante el intercambio de energía, recursos, conocimiento y movilidad. Trenes de levitación de alta velocidad sustituyen los vuelos de larga distancia, desplazándose sobre barras de vivienda infinitas que funcionan como una red física capaz de conectar al mundo.
En esta visión, las fronteras nacionales pierden gradualmente su relevancia, mientras que las identidades culturales permanecen. Los recursos se comparten de manera más equitativa y la colaboración entre las personas sustituye a la competencia geopolítica. En lugar de representar sistemas impulsados por las finanzas o la guerra, surge un nuevo Koinon-Man —«común» o «compartido»— que encarna una sociedad conectada mediante la inteligencia artificial, el conocimiento colectivo y la responsabilidad ambiental.
A partir de individuos aislados, moldeados por sistemas biopolíticos, emerge una nueva humanidad conectada por la tecnología y comprometida con el intercambio, la cooperación y el desarrollo sostenible de la Global Polis.
