Episode Description

This episode of Beyond the Surface features Rafael Robles, co-founder and director of Duo, an innovation studio and lab dedicated to reimagining the built environment for the benefit of society. Duo partners with organizations of all kinds, leading projects through design, strategy, and innovation, and also launches ethical real estate developments and related ventures. One of their standout projects, Starling, was recently recognized by the Chicago Neighborhood Development Awards, earning Second Place for the 2025 Driehaus Foundation Award for Architectural Excellence in Community Design.

“Laws are made by people. [..] People are placed into different categories for no reason at all”

Rafael’s story begins long before Duo. As a student, he and his brother were detained by immigration and became among the first recipients of DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals). That experience shaped his perspective on identity, belonging, and the political forces that influence everyday lives. “Laws are made by people,” he reflects. “People are placed into different categories for no reason at all.” These early realizations about how human decisions shape systems and environments continue to inform his philosophy and practice today.

As Rafael pursued architecture, he began to see space as something far greater than physical form. Every design decision, he realized, was a human choice that carried meaning. “Context is what really drives the experience and a feeling,” he explains. His work expanded across architecture, development, and innovation firms, helping him understand design as a universal language that connects people, ideas, and problem-solving. “If you’re creating something new, what is the reality you are creating?” he asks, challenging traditional approaches to design and encouraging deeper awareness of how built spaces influence human connection.

Together with his brother, Rafael founded Duo with the goal of redefining what space means for people. Duo approaches each project through research, empathy, and storytelling, prioritizing users’ needs and the communities they serve. “You don’t need to be titled into one single thing,” he says—a philosophy that also defines Duo’s own identity as a studio continually evolving through collaboration and context.

“Look beyond the walls of architecture school. […] Try to learn from other worlds that you feel like you have no understanding of.”

Rafael shares insights into Starling by Duo, a project that reimagines development as a collective process. The neighborhood itself takes part in designing the neighborhood, illustrating that architecture is not only about structures, but about people and relationships. “Look beyond the walls of architecture school,” Rafael advises. “Try to learn from other worlds that you feel like you have no understanding of.” For him, Starling is about more than building; it’s about giving back to the community, creating pathways for residents to learn, invest, and build generational wealth. The project seeks to make the neighborhood feel authentically its own—acknowledging its history while envisioning a sustainable, inclusive future.