The team composed of the Colombian firms EMS Arquitectura and Pantoja Arquitectos will design the remodeling of Avenida Sexta in Cali, Colombia. The project involves the transformation of the avenue's public space along a two-kilometer stretch between Plazoleta del Correo (Calle 12 Norte) and Parque de la Música (Calle 36 Norte).
“Avenida Sexta, escenario de futuro” (Avenida Sexta, Stage of the Future), the winning team's proposal, seeks to reclaim the thoroughfare "as a place for social gathering and local and global cultural identity." Moreover, Plazoleta Jairo Varela and Parque de la Música—located at either end of the intervention—provide the perfect opportunity for the architects "to let salsa lyrics pay tribute to those artists who, through their creative practice, have contributed to the genre, and through the genre, to the culture of Cali."
Official Description: The competition for the design of the public space and sidewalks of Avenida Sexta Norte, between Calle 12 Norte and Calle 36 Norte in the municipality of Santiago de Cali, aims to upgrade, for the enjoyment of the citizens, what has historically been one of the city's most iconic spaces, on the stretch spanning from Plazoleta del Correo to Parque de la Música.
The proposal recognizes the historical significance of the avenue and proposes an intervention that responds to current demands while also considering future changes. We begin by establishing that Avenida Sexta has always been characterized by embracing trends and serving as a showcase for novelty in the city.
Since its inception, Avenida Sexta has served as the street connecting the traditional center of Cali with the city's expansion areas. This link fostered new urban life and recreational spaces, new neighborhood developments, and, ultimately, new stages for social interaction and cultural expression.
As both a link and an axis, our proposal focuses on recognizing and highlighting those spaces that emerge from the relationships occurring at its various street intersections, which can be embraced as new places for the city. These relationships, which we call "transversalities," and the new spaces, which we call "events," provide the intervention with greater context and expand the opportunities for Avenida Sexta to incorporate historical, cultural, and social dimensions.
Guiding Principles
Design Strategies
Emphasizing the thematic-programmatic aspect as a guiding principle of the proposal
The themes established by the presence of Plazoleta Jairo Varela and Parque de la Música (at both ends of the intervention) inevitably turn Avenida Sexta into the common thread connecting these two landmarks. For this reason, the intervention incorporates a unifying theme: salsa lyrics will pay tribute to the artists who, through their creative practice, have contributed to the genre, and through the genre, to the culture of Cali.
Dissolving the boundary between public space and private space with a public orientation
One of the identified challenges is the division between the sidewalk and the area beneath the avenue's porticoes. To improve this, the intervention spans the entire width of the ground plane with a unified design reaching all the way to the building facades, fostering a sense of belonging among business owners, residents, and tourists alike.
Eliminating the perception of fragmentation
We propose transforming Avenida Sexta into a continuous street that adapts to topographical changes through uninterrupted paving design. This design involves raising the roadbed at the intersections of streets feeding into the avenue, ensuring safe, barrier-free pedestrian circulation.
Landscape Proposal
The proposal for Avenida Sexta reaffirms Cali as a city of trees, and thus, of shade—a quality that must be enhanced. Indeed, the richness and diversity of the tropical dry forest, according to the research study "Vegetation Structure and Composition of a Regenerating Tropical Dry Forest in Bataclán," are linked to climatic, geographic, and soil conditions, as well as the anthropogenic interventions occurring in the area.
We emphasize reclaiming and enriching the landscape by introducing plant species designed to complement the existing flora along the avenue. The proposal respects notable and iconic trees, while highlighting the need for a progressive replacement policy for the saman trees currently in poor phytosanitary condition or structurally unbalanced due to improper pruning around overhead utility lines—a situation that also underscores the need to underground these utilities.
Architectural Proposal
To reinforce the identity of Santiago de Cali through the renewal of Avenida Sexta, the project works to reclaim its historical vocation as a "stage of the future," which has gradually faded due to the poor environmental state of its public spaces. The overarching challenges identified include the degradation of the natural landscape, the built environment, and mobility dynamics, all of which compromise the environmental quality for pedestrians.
The clearing process removes plant species showing health issues due to poor pruning, phototropism, or failure to meet minimum planting distances, which pose safety hazards for users. Regarding the built environment, any public space elements that encroach upon or disrupt the shared commons will be removed.
Tactile paving is positioned to guarantee an unobstructed path, gently weaving around preserved notable and complementary trees. This inclusive intervention reorganizes priorities to foster a harmonious communion among all users of the avenue.
The Street of Salsa Lyrics
Since the arrival of salsa music in Colombia via seaports on vinyl records, the genre has enjoyed a deep affinity with Cali's culture, creating a vibrant community around its rhythm. What began with collectors, music lovers, and dancers has evolved into an industry that promotes musicians, dancers, and heritage events. These include the annual Cali Fair (Feria de Cali), which, alongside the Petronio Álvarez Pacific Music Festival, generates the city's highest volume of tourism.
Colectivo 720 + De Arquitectura y Paisaje, segundo lugar en concurso de espacio público en la avenida Sexta de Cali, Colombia
Con la propuesta 'Galería a cielo abierto, el equipo integrado por las oficinas Colectivo 720 y De Arquitectura y Paisaje ha obtenido el segundo lugar en el concurso de remodelación del espacio público a lo largo de dos kilómetros de la Avenida Sexta de Cali (Colombia), entre la Plazoleta del Correo (Calle 12 Norte) y el Parque de la Música (Calle 36 Norte).
Architects
EMS Arquitectura, Pantoja ArquitectosLocation
Avenida Sexta, Cali, Valle del Cauca, ColombiaEMS Arquitectura
Gustavo Sarmiento, Paulo Escrucería, Luis Enrique González, Natalia Arévalo Jiménez, Stephany Finlay, Sergio González, María Paula Hidalgo, Leonardo MartínezPantoja Arquitectos
Fredy Pantoja, Sebastián Castaño.Award
Primer LugarProject Year
2018Photographs
Courtesy of Equipo Primer LugarArea
45157.0 m2
