Alexander Díaz Andersson was born and lived his childhood in Sweden. He studied in Spain before moving to the Yucatán peninsula where he started experimenting with furniture and local materials. Further after, the designer founded ATRA, a furniture studio based in Mexico-city, for which he is the creative director. Find out more about the origin of his design and the foundation of ATRA Design Studio.
Photo credit : ATRA Form
The origin of a dialog between Swedish minimalism and Mexican maximalist aesthetic
Alexander Díaz Andersson was born and raised in Falsterbo, a town located in southern Sweden and near Copenhagen. Since his childhood, he was drawn to the minimalism of Scandinavian designers such as Alvar Aalto, and was also obsessed by the Italian architect and designer Carlo Scarpa, whose furniture and architecture form a perfect synthesis.
Alexander’s grandparents were in the furniture industry as well as his mother. Thanks to his young age girlfriend, Díaz Andersson, who originally planned to study Finance, was pushed to dig into design studies. Therefore, the future designer moved to Spain to integrate Industrial design at the Instituto Europeo di Design. This is when, Alexander started being obsessed with woodworking, metals and how materials work.
After his studies, Alexander Díaz Andersson followed his mother’s travel and relocated to Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. At this point, he thought this journey would only be temporary, but finally got stuck in the area. Through his discovery of a new Mexican culture and country, the future designer discovered a very generous and fertile country. He got interested in the rich local tradition of woodworking and how communities work with tropical essences such as Mahogany, that you will find through the Ala Bench.
Photo credit : ATRA Form
Alexander Diaz Andersson, took his time to acquire a language that felt belonging to himself, focusing on woodworking and other materials such as metal and rock, while working in a workshop. Testing attractive projects that would not obviously fit what people wanted or were looking for, the future designer was challenged to find his own path and maturity.
What created the essence of Alexander Díaz Andersson in his creation is his value for sustainable materials and his relation and consideration of objects of furniture that last over time. Growing up with his grandparents and pieces that used to belong to his great grand parents, Alexander value the importance of objects that gain character overtime, embracing and testimony the stories, experiences and lifestyle of people and families. The other aspect that Diaz Andersson cherishes is the imperfection in the design or better say : the soul of human hands being implemented in the product.
ATRA, a sustainable Mexican architecture and design studio based in Mexico-City
Photo credit : ATRA Form
In 2009, Díaz Andersson founded ATRA, an architecture and design studio based in the heart of Mexico-city, that he describes as “an amalgamation of Scandinavian minimalism with Mexican maximalist/Brutalist design.” and for which he is the creative director.
In this studio, the firm’s architectural projects are inspired by the creation of furniture instead of the opposite. The spaces are conceived around fine details that are considered of having a strong relationship with the whole body. The design philosophy for Andersson is the sense of permanence, where the object is thought and created to decay gracefully and gain character over time. Each piece is designed with the two values of sustainability and durability.
Within the workshop, Alexander Díaz Andersson works hand in hand with local artisans and with local materials and handcraft. Diaz Andersson works on a combination of 3D design and engineering with traditional methods. The team works on a very distinct DNA that contributes to a strong value proposition coming from Mexico and to the emergence of Mexico on the global Design scene.
The designer works on many furniture pieces combining exotic wood such as the ATRA chair in Mahogany and combine them with leather or alpaga with the Femur chair. The Flow chair allies the work of metal with soft upholstery such as Lamborghini leather. The collection reflects an hedonistic, material heavy and soft finish line and lifestyle with a mexican soul.
Photo credit : ATRA Form
In 10 years, when people use to only choose Italian, German, Swiss, Swedish or danish designers, they are now more interested in Mexican Designs as the Industry emerged in the last decade.
The dialog between Scandinavian minimalism and Mexican accents now interests people all around the world and ATRA is represented in Mexico as well as in Los Angeles and New-York. Some celebrities, such as Gwyneth Paltrow, did not hesitate to invest in his design furniture.
Alexander Díaz Andersson also collaborates with other artists and designers such as Dobel for Design Miami and Chef Jorge Vallejo of Mexico City’s Quintonil. During the show, the designer was awarded « Best in show » and his work has been described as « the sense of soul ».
With the rise of technology growing exponentially, the fast industry and the emergence of the meta verse and blockchains, Alexander Diaz Andersson is convinced that artisans and handcrafted design is becoming and will become scarcer in the future. The designer takes this phenomenon as an opportunity to show that sustainable models to created, build and grow is becoming more relevant for the planet and for oneself.
Discover now the Alexander Diaz Andersson furniture such as armchairs, chairs and benches on our e-shop. The pieces are made of Mexican precious woods such as Mahogany and are combined with leather or alpaga. You will be able to customize the finishes of your choice for a more personalized furniture that will meet your personal tastes and the exigence of the chosen space.