Mariana Ordóñez Grajales is an architect and co-founder of Comunal, an architecture practice based in Mexico City. Often practicing in rural contexts, Communal approaches architecture as a collaborative social process through which communities can articulate their needs, values, and aspirations. The practice combines architecture and engineering to develop building systems using regional materials. Its projects place the resident communities at the center of their decision-making processes, positioning its team members as mediators in the exchange of knowledge between residents, specialists, and technicians.