A building without walls

Challenge

The capital of Columbia, Bogotá, has been hit hard by COVID-19, and government restrictions have put immense pressure on many cultural institutions and businesses. The city, which has 7.2 million inhabitants1, has experienced an economic downturn during the severe lockdowns2/3, but the difficult situation has also created fertile ground for innovation and ingenuity.

Solution

The local architectural firm Colab-19 has designed a temporary building, La Concordia, that can host various activities – from dining to film screenings and theatre – in an outdoor setting with a low risk of infection. La Concordia allows businesses to stay open without breaking the restrictions and provides cultural institutions a legal and safe setting for their events. For the physical structure, Colab-19 used scaffolding because it is a fast, inexpensive, and easily accessible building material. Curtains made of jute – a fabric made from natural fibres traditionally used in Colombia to make sacks for coffee and potatoes – hang as screens between dining areas and other zones. All the materials used can be disassembled and used for other projects when the temporary building is dismantled. However, the architects hope that the building will remain standing long after the pandemic is over and that interventions such as this can help change residents’ views on how public space is utilised.

The project shows how ingenuity and a creative use of available materials can make architecture with unique aesthetic and spatial qualities while helping to solve an urgent practical need. The project also provides new perspectives on the way in which the people of Bogotá use public space.

Taxonomy

Sphere: Trade/Service, Culture/Leisure

Timescale: Tactical, Short Term

Type: Building Intervention

User Group: All user groups

Before COVID-19: Activities took place indoors

After the introduction of restrictions: Activities continued outside

Project and location: Sharing an Open Main Street, California, USA

Contributor: City of Santa Monica

Established: July 2020 / Removed: November 2021