We’re strongly arguing for ephemeral architecture for emergency solutions-not only in the pandemic, but also for sustainability, and for social equality issues.Īlejandro Saldarriaga (MArch II ’21) on applications for ephemeral and resourceful architecture in a post-COVID eraįor colab-19, that means championing the ephemeral over the permanent, the readymade over the cast-in-place, and the sustainable over the disposable.Ĭolab-19’s first built project, an outdoor dining area for popular Bogotá market plaza La Perseverancia, was completed last summer and marked the team’s first experiment with scaffolding. With many construction infrastructure systems available universally, they hope their approach can be adopted (with regional adaptations) by other designers across the globe. Taking advantage of existing systems, processes, and materials, and engaging in partnerships between public, private, and academic sectors allows them to create resilient and responsive designs with minimal environmental and economic impact. For colab-19, that means championing the ephemeral over the permanent, the readymade over the cast-in-place, and the sustainable over the disposable. “It’s very special that we were born mid-pandemic, because we were asked to question all of the traditional models about practicing architecture,” says Saldarriaga. The same pandemic constraints that have dictated the terms of their virtual collaboration also inspire their approach to design. Saldarriaga, currently based in his native Bogotá, and Bahamon, a Bogotano living in London, launched their remote practice in the summer of 2020 over Zoom, and the two have yet to meet in person. Image of Amphitheater La Concordia, Initiative by: Alcaldia mayor de Bogotá & IPES, Project Development by: Colab-19, Colombian Society of Architects & Taller Architects, Community Engagement by: Diseño Publico, Scaffolding by: Layher, Photography by: Alberto Roa Though Amphitheater La Concordia was only up for several months, it conveyed a lasting message about temporary architecture’s role in creating a happier and healthier city. Textiles that nod to the region’s culture augmented the structure’s rigid tectonics: a safety scrim of soccer goal netting wrapped around the third-floor observation deck, artificial turf lined the “green” roof, and local burlap fabric used to bag coffee and potatoes was hung to form soft walls. “Scaffolding’s properties adapt very well to the realities that we’re living right now, in that you need a very cheap, quick, sustainable material,” notes Saldarriaga. “We see existing systems as the opportunity-how can we use those resources to create architecture?” says Bahamon, of colab-19’s practice. Diagram of La Perse, Initiative by: Alcaldia Mayor de Bogotá & IPES, Project Development by: Colab-19, Colombian Society of Architects & Taller Architects, Community Engagement by: Diseño Publico, Scaffolding by: Layher, Diagram by: Colab-19 While designers worldwide grappled with shortages of plexiglass and plywood as they scrambled to design for our new everyday life, colab-19’s multi-use installation was constructed with materials that are purposefully easy to source, assemble, and reuse-like the scaffolding, which was donated for the project by manufacturer Layher. As colab-19, architect Alejandro Saldarriaga (MArch II ’21) and urban designer German Bahamon designed the U-shaped La Concordia: Amphitheater to host a flexible program of outdoor dining, retail, and entertainment, all open to the public. The three-story framework-a temporary intervention developed by architecture studio colab-19 with the Colombian Society of Architects and Taller Architects-was part of a city-sponsored campaign to support COVID-safe civic life during lockdown. Late last year, a scaffolding structure rose to abut the facade of the popular La Concordia market plaza in Bogotá-but the building wasn’t under construction.
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