The envisioned design was a flexible amphitheater able to offer outdoor dining, retail, and entertainment activities. The typology of the structure counts with three platforms in “U” shape  opened to the entrance of the building, enhancing the facade as the principal scenario able to host any performance, concert, or even a religious event thanks to the flexibility proposed by the architects. The design’s intention was to help the entertainment industry of Bogota, which is deeply suffering from the pandemic.

The first platform of the structure is open to the public with local retail shops. The concept of “inhabitable staircase” allows the outdoor dining on the second floor to have appropriate physical distancing between tables. One thing the team learned from the previous project, “La Perseverancia”, was that the installation itself was privatizing public space. This led the architects to create the top of the structure an accessible rooftop open to the public. Making it possible for every citizen to enjoy the panoramic view of Bogota.

About materiality

We knew that the design had to be built with materials that were already part of our day-to-day routines, which could be recycled or reused into architecture to save costs.

Bogotá is a traditional context that is not used to skeptical design. We were not convinced that Bogotá citizens would think of dining in a scaffolding as a memorable experience due to the material´s “industrial” and “cold” qualities. As such we were looking for materials that could soften up the interior of the proposal. This led us to investigate soft textiles and finally chose “Yute”.

Yute is a natural fiber textile that is commonly used in potato and coffee sacks all over the country. It is a material that people correlate to rural areas of Colombia and has a “warm” and “rustic” connotation. The juxtaposition of this material with an international industrial technology gave an innovative design a sense of place and made a warm interior atmosphere to our outdoor dining solution.

Additionally, we are happy to say 100% of the materials used in this intervention will be recycled by the local plaza. Proving that sustainable architecture has the means to be low cost and high impact.