In the second clip of this four-part interview, Alexander Eisenschmidt traces the origins of his research into Félix Candela—sparked by a conversation in Mexico and a surprising absence of institutional memory in Chicago. Eisenschmidt’s book, Félix Candela From Mexico City to Chicago (Actar Publishers), revisits the architect’s pivotal relocation from Mexico to the United States, revealing the tensions between two urban contexts that shaped his work. While Mexico offered Candela the freedom to operate as architect, engineer, and builder, enabling structural innovation through material scarcity, Chicago presented institutional fragmentation that curtailed his hands-on approach. Through rare insights and archival discoveries, Eisenschmidt uncovers a transitional period marked by experimental drawings, unrealized ambitions, and international collaborations—redefining Candela not only as a Mexican modernist icon but also as a global thinker navigating shifting architectural terrains.
