SILLA GEPETTO
by Oscar Hagerman · Ciudad de México, Mexico

Oscar was born in Spain 1936, from a Swedish father and a Spanish mother, came to Mexico with his family in 1952.He obtained the degree of Architecture at Mexico’s National University in 1961. His professional life has two stages. The first one, which includes urban projects of houses and schools, office planning and furniture for industrial and craftsmen cooperative  production. The second stage takes place the last 25 years, during which he has worked in rural indigenous  projects, with the people, not for the people, in  housing improvement, schools that rescue the vernacular materials, ecological techniques for sustainable planing and  supporting cooperatives and different organizations with furniture design and other products all over Mexico.In 1974 he received the national price from the Mexican Institute of foreign commerce for exportation and in 2006 he was given The Quorum Price for professional Merit, and Gallo Price that is given  by the Iberoamericana University to professors that make the difference.Universidad Iberoamericana gave him an  Honoris Causa Doctorate ( PHD)  in México City  and in Puebla.During 4 decades he has been, and still is,  a teacher in Architecture and Design, at several Universities,  Iberoamericana University, Mexico´s National University, San Luis Potosi University, Marista University in Yucatan, and for more than 15 years he has taught Self construction at the Center for Rural Studies in the North Hills of Puebla a College for indigenous and peasant students.He made a 5  years research with photographer Mariana Yampolsky on indigenous habitat, that ended in a big exhibit at the National Anthropological Museum in Mexico City,  and has travelled to many countries around the world. His work has been exposed in Museums and Universities, but also in small towns where the production has come from.He lives in Mexico City but still travels around Mexico and Latin America. He is father of 5 children and grand father of 8.