Chambers, at Proa, with Duchamps´s Bycicle Wheel as background.

Tony Chambers, graphic designer and editor-in-chief of Wallpaper*, the iconic international design, fashion and lifestyle magazine, Proa invited him to visit Buenos Aires for the reinauguration.

Tony is well-know for his designer and editor work at UK. As former creative director of Wallpaper*, Tony was recognized for living a new design direction for the magazine, the creation of a collectable 10th anniversary issue, and for the hiper successful creation of City Guides, published by Phaidon.

After spending some days in Buenos Aires and making and expert look around the new building and Marcel Duchamp´s exhibition, he talks about the experience.

What are your impressions about the new Proa?
I´ve been to Buenos Aires 10 years ago, so it’s a very different place. Proa has been featured many times in our guides. Proa has been always recomended, so it´s interested to compare the city with the photographs and the experiences of my colleagues. This is quite an extraordinary development, so internacional in flavour and it´s as good at any place in London or New York. Its has the same modern and international perspective.

In your experience, which are the distinctive elements that make a place like Proa “international”?
Of course, firstly it´s the architecture and the visual impact of the building. But also then the details of this building are impresive. It´s very interesting the use of concrete and metal: the materials are used in a very inventive way but the not seem too flash, which sometimos detracts on the content of the building. The use of the materials here feels very honest and it looks like great materials are used in a very honest way. I really like that; the architects done a great job, both in terms of what they are housing -wich is contemporary art-, but also within the enviroment. This is quite fascinating area here, quite a dificult fit for a contemporary art gallery to be in this quite raw area of La Boca. But I think it fits: it doesn´t look too ostentatious, it looks modern, and an international that doesn´t turn back to the area, feels confortable.

What do you think about the branding work of Spin for Proa?
It´s really great. I´ve known Spin work but I didn´t met Tony Brook, but I´m a fan of Spin work for a long time because I´m a graphic designer myself, so I´m very sensitive to graphic design. For the past ten or twelve years, that I´ve been awared of them, Spin has very interesting for their work in typographies, specifically in cultural arena. They work for venues and galleries, in corporative image, as in Whithechapel, and they´ve done a great job for Meta. The are in the in the top of my listo of graphic designers. The work the´ve done in Proa is great, specially related with the enviroment, that they done really great. It gives the place a very clear identity, you recognize the logo everywhere you go. And the font gives the place an inmediate recognizable factor but at the same time it doesn´t shout too loud on the content.

What did you like about Buenos Aires?
The people are the really atraction of Buenos Aires. They are inmediately friendly. And there´s a meeting pot related to the nature of the people here, which I associate with coming from UK and from Liverpool: the big city with the port and the river. And here the people from all over the world and different countries make the city more healthier and warm.