university civic center: los andes university, bogotá

Abstract

Located in the foothills of the eastern hills of Bogotá, in the Andes mountain range, the University Civic Center proposes, as its name suggests, to shift the central axis of the discussion from what was built – the buildings and classrooms – and take it to the void, the way it is defined and characterized, i.e., to the meeting places that make up the community. Thus, the University Civic Center is defined by a set of collective spaces of various scales, which allow the articulation of the different programmatic components of the project. The sum of these spaces, terraces, patios, corridors, balconies, and gardens, generates a civic space that promotes and enhances not only the encounter with the other – both members of the academic community and society in general –, but also the contact with the landscape and geography of the Andes.