With the proposal "Open-Air Gallery" (Galería a cielo abierto), the team comprising Colectivo 720 and DARP - De Arquitectura y Paisaje has won second place in the design competition to renovate the public space along a two-kilometer stretch of Avenida Sexta in Cali, Colombia, between Plazoleta del Correo (Calle 12 Norte) and Parque de la Música (Calle 36 Norte).
The award-winning team's proposal is structured around four actions that aim to both "respond to the need for pedestrian infrastructure" and "generate a narrative itinerary experience, highlighting the built landscape, recognizing the natural landscape, and recalling local idiosyncrasies as a basis for the reactivation of public space," the authors explain.
Official Project Description: Avenida Sexta is a vital historical corridor for understanding the development of Cali, where cultural and environmental values converge and must be highlighted to promote their preservation. Consequently, the project aims to foster community recognition and ownership by highlighting local cultural values that have been emblematic in shaping the city. To achieve this, four main actions are established:
Action 1: Moving from Street to Gallery
The concept of the "gallery" integrates various meanings that inform the proposal: symbolically, it is a space for exhibition and learning to remember, while spatially (from the Latin galilaea, portico) it is an elongated, continuous typology of diverse spaces, a collection of commercial venues, and a continuous canopy of vegetation.
As an open-air gallery, Avenida Sexta establishes two general objectives: first, to address the need for pedestrian infrastructure by reclaiming public space, promoting alternative mobility, prioritizing pedestrian connections, and reactivating the social component. Second, to generate a narrative journey, highlighting the built landscape, recognizing the natural landscape, and evoking local identity as a catalyst for public space reactivation.
Action 2: Establishing Criteria
The project proposes to reconnect the Avenida Sexta axis with the city's collective imagination based on four overarching criteria aimed at recovering the urban landscape. These criteria are cross-cutting, appearing in different forms and intensities throughout the entire route:
Action 3: Identifying Design Strategies
Along Avenida Sexta, general issues are identified alongside intervention strategies that address social needs in an integrated and systematic way. These are translated onto the site, establishing different types and intensities of intervention throughout the entire corridor:
Action 4: Establishing Thematic Sectors
The project is structured as a continuous narrative guided by a museographical script, addressing three major thematic sectors that recover the distinct identity of each area:
Through various types of signage, the design seeks to build a continuous narrative that enriches the visitor experience. A public space management system was proposed, identifying instruments for its maintenance and execution. This system includes strategies for coordinating local residents and merchants, phased prioritization, and utilizing betterment levies (valorización) and value-capture (plusvalía) mechanisms from the generated developments. Ultimately, the project aims to foster a landscape culture in Cali, where its citizens find expression, allowing Avenida Sexta to reclaim its historical significance and build connections with new generations.
Architects
Location
Avenida Sexta, Cali, Valle del Cauca, ColombiaColectivo 720
Andrés Álvarez, Guillermo Buitrago, Ana María Salazar, Valeria Duque, Fabián Mostacilla, Stephany Fiat, Cesar Aragón, Julián Mejía, Mario Camargo, Luis TombéDe Arquitectura y Paisaje
Cristian Ríos Abello, Milena Jaramillo Hernández, Daniel Veenstra Martínez, Melissa Paéz Tuirán, Andrés Calvo Parra, Adriana García, Pamela Pérez Palacio, Alejandra Ramírez Rico, Allison Ortiz, Alexandra García Bohorques, Daniel Osorio Ciro, Pablo Londoño Montoya, Jorge Buitrago, Jaime CabalAward
Segundo LugarConveners
Departamento Administrativo de Planeación Municipal, 'Mi Cali Bonita'Organizer
Sociedad Colombiana de Arquitectos, regional Valle del CaucaProject Year
2018Photographs
Courtesy of Equipo Segundo Lugar
