Pico Velásquez is an architect, computational designer and dancer. Passionate about the overlapping patterns and rhythms expressed in architecture, geometry, and the body in motion, her work finds an intersection between design innovation, performance and technology to create unique experiences that question our assumptions of space and interaction.
Pico grew up in Bogotá, Colombia independently pursuing all topics that attracted her fascination. From digital art to geometry and dance; as a finalist in the Colombian Mathematic Olympiads and training as a classical ballet dancer for over 12 years. After studying architecture and applied mathematics, Pico worked for esteemed Colombian architects Giancarlo Mazzanti and Daniel Bonilla parametrically designing the canopy of a complex cloud-shaped coliseum and the first Hyatt Regency in the country. Parallel, she co-founded an architecture and construction practice that designed and built 12 luxury villas amidst the mountains of Payandé.
Soon after, in 2014 Pico's passions continued to collide as she moved to the U.S and graduated from a Master’s in Design Technology with distinction from Harvard University; A program that connected computation with architectural design, and allowed her to explore the intricacies in complex geometry, kinetic structures, material innovation, and interactive sensors.
Pico then joined the Harvard Center for Green Buildings & Cities where she investigated different high-rise typologies to come up with integrated solutions between form, function and energy optimization for Evergrande Group in China. Parallel, her research looked into the nano-scale world, understanding new material structure and passive ventilation strategies with the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard.
In 2015 Pico joined renowned architecture firm Bjarke Ingles Group in New York City to design the concept of the Elysium Memorial for Guy Laliberte, founder of Cirque du Soleil. Subsequently at BIG, she led the canopy geometry for Google’s new headquarters in Mountain View CA, parametrically solving the discretized double-curved enclosure in terms of structure, drainage, daylighting and energy consumption.
In search of understanding the correlation between architectural form, digital mediums and theater, Pico began collaborating with Artists In Motion with projects in Sydney and China. She returned as an Art-Technology resident at the New Museum in New York City and in 2017 launched PIICO Creative Partners, an architecture & multimedia production studio that envisions the future of cultural and entertainment spaces - ultimately a place that combines her curiosities of design, technology and innovation in the fascinating world of live performance.
In an era where digital and physical worlds are more interconnected than ever, PIICO Creative questions how to extend architectural and digital narratives to a new spatial dimension that leverages immersive and interactive mediums and rethinks the perspective of our built environment.
PIICO has now collaborated with multidisciplinary designers such as Kenzo Digital, Artists In Motion, Elemental and Rockwell Group to design and build architectural experiences for clients such as LVHM, Haier, Pepsi, Samsung, Brookfield Properties, Fisher Brothers and the Hard Rock Casino & Hotel. As a visionary creative studio, PIICO is excited to be growing its team of architects, designers, creative technologists and engineers with projects in New York, Seoul, Tokyo, Sydney, Dubai and China.