Today we’d like to introduce you to Eric Solis.
Hi Eric, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I’m a product of So Cal through-and-through. My Dad grew up in Watts in South Central LA, and my mom immigrated from Mexico as a child and grew up in East LA. I was born in LA, was raised in OC and the IE, and attended college at USC to study architecture. I had always felt a special connection to the history and culture of Southern California and LA specifically. As a fourth-generation Angeleno, the city runs through my veins and my soul. After graduating from USC, entering the design and architecture profession allowed me the opportunity to literally shape and build the city through the projects I worked on. The most prominent project I was so fortunate to be a part of was the new 6th Street Bridge project. I was part of the design competition team that dreamed up the vision for the new bridge design and was responsible for delivering that vision through the design & engineering process to reality. The original 6th Street Bridge was arguably one of the most important monumental landmarks in the City of LA and stood as a cultural icon for many communities in the city – especially the Chicano and lowriding culture.
Thus, replacing the bridge with a new icon that could carry the same weight as the original was quite a challenge to live up to. The new bridge is now nearing the end of construction and should be completed in 2022. During the design process, I was especially drawn to the community aspect of the project. Just before the demolition of the original bridge, I had personally suggested to LA Councilmember Jose Huizar that his office throw a community farewell party in honor of this extremely important landmark. The event happened and was a huge success. After that, something ignited inside of me. I had never before seen the people of LA come together in a showing of civic pride as I had seen that day. I wanted to help create more of those experiences. Shortly after, I started volunteering my time as a member of the planning committee for the hugely popular Night on Broadway festival in Downtown LA, which drew hundreds of thousands of people to Broadway over a span of a few years.
In the midst of this, I also volunteered my time and my skills to plan the first-ever LGBTQ+ festival in Downtown LA, DTLA Proud. I went on to serve as Vice President of the DTLA Proud organization and helped design & plan the festival in Pershing Square for the next three years. When the pandemic hit in 2020, all of this came to a sudden halt. The architecture and event industries were battered due to the struggling economy and related health crisis, so I was forced to re-think how I would continue to keep doing the things I loved to do. Thus, I took the opportunity to launch my own creative design studio in 2020 that would marry my skillsets and passions in creating spaces, environments and experiences – fittingly named “Imaginary Space.” At the end of 2020, I took a leap of faith and decided to fulfill my dream of moving to Mexico City and living a bi-national lifestyle between LA and CDMX. It is my plan to forge new relationships and strengthen alliances between the creative communities in LA and CDMX, as we are sister cities after all! I look forward to the exciting path ahead.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
The road is never smooth. There are always speed bumps, potholes, forks, inclines, and sometimes perilous bridges you must cross to get to where you are going. Some of the struggles I experienced along the way were mostly personal ones, but I also faced the common struggles that people face – time, relationships, personal limits, and overcoming fear of the unknown. The biggest struggles definitely came in 2020, but out of those struggles I ended up having one of the best years of my life filled with the most profound change and growth.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Imaginary Space is a multidisciplinary creative studio based in Mexico City and Los Angeles that specializes in the design + development of physical and virtual spaces, environments and experiences from concept to reality. From architectural design to interior design, production design to production logistics, and permitting to procurement, Imaginary Space offers an unparalleled range of professional services. No matter the type or scale of the project, we cover every square inch and every logistical detail in the creative envisioning, design process and final execution of a project lifespan. We design human spaces that can be occupied in both the physical and virtual worlds. We see space as a vessel that can be defined by the interaction between its users and the objects around them — scale, material, color, texture, opacity, light and visual connectivity all play an equally important role in our creation of space.
Whether it’s a tenant improvement project, urban placemaking intervention, outdoor festival, or virtual reality computer model, our creation of space knows no bounds. We shape unique environments with the human emotion at its center; it’s about capturing a vibe and a feeling that envelops the soul — through music, culture, art, food and everything that invigorates the senses. Whether designing the look & feel, outlining the logistical details, coordinating vendors, curating a unique program lineup, or navigating the permitting process, we are able to create extraordinary environments in some of the most unexpected places. We create unforgettable experiences focused on the point of view of the individual — it’s about creating a multi-sensory journey threading together time, place, object and self that leaves a powerful and lasting impression on the observer. Whether conceptualizing a custom-tailored guest experience, growing a brand’s visibility with robust graphics and media, or designing music videos and photo productions, our experiences are designed to be remembered for life.
Imaginary Space can help turn even the most ambitious creative ideas from imagination into reality. At Imaginary Space, we relish in exploring design between the real and imagined worlds. We recognize the challenges associated with both the physical constraints and social complexities that come with every project and tackle them head-on with innovative solutions. We believe that if one is to understand good design one must understand people. Inspiring positive change, bringing people closer together and contributing to the betterment of humanity is integral to everything we do.
What was your favorite childhood memory?
My favorite childhood memory has got to be when my family took a trip down to Mexicali to visit our extended family there, and they surprised me with a huge fiesta de cumpleaños (birthday party). There had to have been like 50 people there all to celebrate my 8th birthday, complete with a big piñata, a major feast, a mountain of gifts, a dancefloor with lights and loud music, kids running around crazy and adults getting drunk. That was one of the most defining moments when I felt the real spirit of Mexican culture and family.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.imaginaryspace.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/imaginary__space/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/imaginaryspacedesign
