When we arrived on the Azuero coast of Panama in 2008, we were architects from New York City. We built buildings and adhered to the sustainability codes set out for us. The deforested, barren land we were sent to work on in Panama would end up transforming our architectural practice and our world view. In this process Studio Tlalli came to be the place where we could channel the inspiration we drew from the tropical ecosystem around us into designs that reveal the latent beauty of these natural materials.

In the process of building three residential projects in 12 years, we planted over 80,000 native tree species to reforest the land around our projects to reconnect the remaining tracts of old-growth dry tropical forest, an endangered ecosystem. We worked with our clients to form a private ecological reserve and land trust called Reserva Ecologica Panamaes. Every Studio Tlalli design is directly sourced from sustainable forestry that we manage on this reserve. We have the unique opportunity to preserve the chain-of-custody of our forest products, raw materials, and our design concepts -- from inception through final fabrication.

We believe that design is an organic process, dependent on the raw material available, and on the design dexterity to understand that the beauty within the material only needs to be revealed, not forged. In the process of reforestation, we became intimately acquainted with the tropical wood species that we work with. Each tropical wood is unique, with different strengths, colors, textures, and figures - and offers significant design inspiration for us. As designers, we looked for an existing studio dedicated to working with these woods in Panama, but we couldn’t find one - that is how Studio Tlalli came to be. 

In the rural area of Panama where our reserve and shop is located, woodcraft is a skill passed from father to son to cousin to neighbor. Our team consists of local “ebonistas” (carpenters) who we have worked with for many years to develop refined designs that are crafted by hand in our workshop. Our team has taught us volumes about the workability of native species and how they age, allowing us to adapt our designs to withstand the test of time. 

The word Tlalli means earth in Nahuatl, an Aztecan language still spoken by over a million indigenous people in Mexico and El Salvador today. The ancient architecture of the Americas has long been a design influence of ours, and one that we are continually learning from on our annual trips to Mexico to visit family and explore the remains of the vast Aztec empire. Aztec structures are famous for their display of hierarchy and balance - but we are particularly inspired by the Aztecs ability to engage each design with the earth - and how that quality has allowed their architecture to withstand the test of time. Creating art that is sustainably engaged with the earth is what we strive to do at Studio Tlalli. Using the Aztec word for earth as our name pays homage to the fact that this is a concept rooted in ancient wisdom that has long preceded us. Studio Tlalli is from the earth, for the conservation of the earth -- and most importantly, deeply inspired by the earth.  

IM/KM and Studio Tlalli are separate entities that are united by a shared vision, set of values, and operational leadership. IM/KM is an architecture and planning firm that takes on complex projects, and collaborates with Tlalli for contract furniture pieces for site specific installations.  Additionally, Tlalli offers a curated collection of singular pieces to the consumer market. The two are interdependent and have a shared focus on the intersection of conservation and design that yields a positive social and environmental impact.