Portfolio Felipe Velasquez P

Porfolio | Felipe Velazquez

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Felipe Velásquez Piedrahita

p o r t f o l i o

2013


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i n d e x

0Icv


05there is nothing new under the sun venice architecture biennale 2012

09inventory

feria odeón, contemporary international art fair

12public competition

buena arquitectura, excelente pedagogía

16casa primavera

buena arquitectura, excelente pedagogía

18residential building bell 134a

building by a grid

20transferia: an architecture thesis

unearthing bogota’s environmental wealth

24miu

mobile interactive units

26the longhouse


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Education

08/2005 – 09/2010Universidad De Los Andes{Bogotá, Colombia}Bachelor of Architecture, professional degree

01/2009 – 06/2009Instituto Superior Tecnico De Lisboa {Lisbon, Portugal}Exchange Architecture Student

Work Experience

july 2010 – OngoingAltiplano Estudio De Arquitectura {Bogotá, Colombia}Co-founder of a l t i p l a n o estudio de arquitectura along with Alberto Manrique, Felipe Guerra, and Pedro Aparicio.

Currently a l t i p l a n o is being operated by Pedro Aparicio and Felipe Velasquez in Bogotá, Colombia. Meanwhile Alberto Manrique and Felipe Guerra are continuing their academic formation at Columbia GSAPP and the Berlage Institute respectively.

June 2012 – OngoingProsantafé {Bogotá, Colombia}Part time architectural, project and construction advisor for construction company Prosantafé S.A.S.

May 2010 – August 2010

i n d e x

address: calle 127 bis # 17a – 30, bogotá, colombia

e-mail: <[email protected]>,

<[email protected]>

phone: {+57} 310 6975696 | {+571} 2742244

web: www.estudioaltiplano.com

born: 08/01/1987 | bogotá, colombia

nationality: colombian

c v

Uribe De Bedout Arquitectos {Bogotá, Colombia}Was invited to be a part of the team for the design of the competition for the Bogotá Chamber of Commerce Convention Center, which UdeB developed in partnership with Diller Scofidio + Renfro {New York City, USA}. After conceptual design phase in Bogotá, i spent three weeks in the New York offices of ds+ r working on the competition. We achieved second place.

Built Work

05/2013 - OngoingFaskha ApartmentApartment Renovation. Bogotá, ColombiaTeam: a l t I p l a n o Size: 400 m2Architectural Design and Construction

05/2013 – OngoingFonnegra GerleinOffice Space Reconstruction and Renovation. Bogotá, ColombiaTeam: a l t I p l a n o Size: 360 m2Architectural Design and Construction

04/2013 – OngoingEstrada ApartmentApartment Renovation. Bogotá, ColombiaTeam: a l t I p l a n o Size: 380 m2Architectural Design and Construction



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06/2012 – 01/2013Monroy ApartmentApartment Renovation. Bogotá, ColombiaTeam: a l t I p l a n o Size: 380 m2Architectural Design and Construction

02/2012 – 12/2012The Longhouse House Renovation. Bogotá, ColombiaTeam: a l t i p l a n oSize: 480 m2Architectural Design and Construction

06/2012 – OngoingCasa PrimaveraPrefabricated Social Housing Prototype for Emergency Projects. ColombiaTeam: a l t i p l a n oSize: 45 m2 {each dwelling, over 300 built and more under construction}Architectural Design and Construction Supervision

04/2012 – 08/2012There is Nothing New Under the Sun – Venice Biennale of Architecture 2012Installation. Venice, ItalyTeam: a l t i p l a n o + Carlos BalenSize: 7 m2 Architectural Design and Construction

02/2012 – 07/2012Expansion of Brandy Domecq Headquarters Office Renovation and Expansion. Bogotá, Colombia

Team: a l t i p l a n o Size: 450 m2 Architectural Design and Construction 12/2011 – 07/2012Apartment GInterior design for a new apartment that resulted from the merge of 3 small apartments.Bogotá, Colombia Team: a l t i p l a n o Size: 450 m2 Architectural Design and Construction

11/2011 – 03/2012Yokohama Offices Interior Design. Bogotá, ColombiaTeam: a l t i p l a n o Size: 320 m2 Architectural Design and Construction

10/2011Inventory – 1st Edition of Odeon International Contemporary Art FairInstallation. Bogotá, ColombiaTeam: a l t i p l a n o + Danilo VolpatoDesign and Construction

07/2011Colombian Flower Pyramids PavilionTemporary Pavilion for the International Flower Exposition. Bogotá, Colombia *Winner 1st Prize – Best Pavilion Design Team: a l t i p l a n o Size: 72 m2 Architectural Design and Construction

03/2011 – 08/2011Patio ApartmentApartment renovation. Bogotá, ColombiaTeam: a l t i p l a n o Size: 174 m2

Architectural Design and Construction

10/2010 – In ConstructionResidential Building Bell 134AHousing. Bogotá, ColombiaTeam: a l t i p l a n o Size: 3600 m2 Architectural Design and Construction Supervision

06/2010 – 10/2011Clover HousePrivate House. Zipaquirá, ColombiaTeam: a l t i p l a n o + Joana BarossiSize: 400 m2Architectural Design and Construction Supervision

03/2010A Varias Manos stencil workshop at Villa Juliana. Intervention + 4-day community workshop. Villavicencio, ColombiaTeam: a l t i p l a n o + Estudio Marzo as a temporary collective called EnVozAlta.Size: Graffiti on 42 m x 6 m wallDesign, workshop tutor, and realization.

Competitions 07/2013Public Competition for the Expansion of the Colon Theater in Bogotá, ColombiaPublic Competition. Bogotá, ColombiaTeam: a l t i p l a n o + Mema Arquitectos + Carlos Balen + Alejandro Quintana

02/2013Independence: Invitational Competition for Re-Thinking the Mobile Housing Solutions of Oil Rig Field OfficesSecond PlacePrivate Competition. Bogotá, ColombiaTeam: a l t i p l a n o + Carlos Balen

02/2012Wrapped Forest – Proposal for Architectural Record International Competition Aids Memorial Park – New YorkPublic competition for a memorial park in Manhattan, New YorkTeam: a l t i p l a n o + Carolina Maya + Carlos Balen + Carlos Martinez

10/2011 – OngoingBuena Arquitectura, Excelente Pedagogia*Winner 1st prize for Amazon Region*Winner 1st prize for Andes Region*Winner 2nd prize for Pacific Region*Winner 2nd prize for Caribbean Region

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Team: a l t i p l a n o + Mema Arquitectos + Carlos Balen + Alejandro QuintanaProject exhibited at the Universidad Piloto de Colombia. Bogotá, Colombia.

05/2010 – 08/2010Public Competition for the Design of the New Bogotá Convention Center – Bogotá Chamber of CommerceBogotá, Colombia and New York City, USATeam: Uribe De Bedout Arquitectos / Diller Scofidio + Renfro10/2009Newark Visitors Center International CompetitionNewark, USATeam: Alberto Manrique, Felipe Guerra, Pedro Aparicio and Felipe Velásquez.

Lectures

03/2013There is Nothing New Under the SunHUB BogotáAltiplano was invited as keynote speakers in the series of architecture lectures “Posiciones de Emergencia” at the HUB Bogotá.

08/2013En ConstrucciónUniversidad de los AndesAltiplano was invited as keynote speakers in an ongoing series of lectures by important Colombian architecture studios.

Seminars / Workshops

06/2013 – OngoingEntrepreneurship and Finance Seminar- Ernst & Young. Bogotá, ColombiaCurrently attending a six-month long, weekly seminar on entrepreneurship and finance for leaders of small, up and coming companies.

08/2012Biennale de Architettura di VeneziaAttended as an exhibitor and as a participant to various events and talks at the 2012 Venice Architecture Biennale. The year’s theme was established by curator David Chipperfield as Common Ground, and delved deep into the basic ideas that are common to all architects when unprovided with excessively profound considerations.

07/2012Building Local. Barichara, ColombiaA design-build workshop organized by architects Maria Carrizosa, Adriana Navarro, and Ana Maria Gutierrez that explored the aesthetic, assembly and tectonic qualities of earth construction. Professors Ronald Rael and Ramon Aguirre led explorations with rammed earth, adobe, and fique paper. The 10-day workshop consisted of designing and building the first phase of a house for a local family of campesinos.

07/2011Pasaje. bogotá, colombia.

Artist Residence LAAGENCIA and Danish School KAOS Pilot invited a l t I p l a n o to participate in the organization of a Workshop Pop-Up Market. The event consisted of a complete day of workshops, installations, culinary activities, and a local band music festival. Besides participating in the curatorial and organization of the event, a l t I p l a n o realized an work in-progress illumination workshop that constructed a light panel made of recycled plastic shots that would act as part of the scenography for the music festival.

10/2010VII BIAU – Biennal Iberoamericana de Arquitectura y Urbanismo. Medellín, Colombia. 3-day symposium with lectures, debates, award presentations, and exhibitions.Lectures assisted: Ana Elvira Velez {CO}, Carlos Pardo {CO}, Francisco Fanucci + Marcelo Ferraz {BR}, Inês Lobo {PT}, Jose Selgas + Lucia Cano {ESP}, Mauricio Rocha {MX}.

07/2010Cartagena International Summer StudioArchitecture for a historic preservation closed enclosure, Cartagena, ColombiaTutors: Mauricio Rocha, Paloma Vera, Isaac Broid, Takaharu Tezuka, Sebastian Irarrazabal, Carlos Mijares, Felipe Gonzalez-Pacheco, Carlos Campuzano, etc.Organized by Universidad de los Andes05/2010

1st Encounter of Expanded Architecture. Bogotá, Colombia5-day workshop at the creative space el parqueadero at the Museo Banco de la Republica, focused on creating possible strategies for public space regeneration in radical situations from a collective hands-on position. Tutors: Santiago Cirugueda and Carlos Hernandez. Organized by Universidad Javeriana. Invited as guest speaker to present the project A Varias Manos stencil workshop at Villa Juliana.

Publications

10/2012There is Nothing New Under the Sun / rammed earth at the biennale di venezia 2012Publication at Ron Rael’s earth architecture blog: www.eartharchitecture.orglink: http://www.eartharchitecture.org/index.php?/archives/1181-there-is-nothing-new-under-the-sun-rammed-earth-at-the-biennale-di- venezia-2012.html

08/2012There is Nothing New Under the Sun, Exhibition Book,Traces of Centuries and Future Steps, Collateral Event 13th Venice Architecture Biennale 2012, Venice, Italy.

08/2012Cuando Calienta el Sol, Nota


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Uniandina, Triannual Official Magazine, Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia. Article on the winning project for the National Public Competition “Good Architecture, Excellent Pedagogy”.

11/2011Primer Lugar Concurso Buena Arquitectura, Excelente Pedagogia / Altiplano + MEMA Arqs. + C.Balen + A.Quintana, publication at renowned architecture blog: www.plataformaarquitectura.cl. Architecture publication explaining the complete concept behind the project: all submitted diagrams, plans, and renders, were published. Article on the winning project for the National Public Competition “Good Architecture, Excellent Pedagogy”. link: http://www.plataformaarquitectura.cl/2011/11/29/primer-lugar-concurso-buena-arquitectura-excelente-pedagogia-altiplano-mema-arqs-c-balen-a-quintana/

11/2011Colegios a la medidia del clima, publication at printed edition of principal national newspaper El Espectador. Article discussing the importance architecture must conceive when adapting itself to different climates. Article on the winning project for the National Public Competition “Good Architecture, Excellent Pedagogy”. link: http://www.elespectador.com/

impreso/vivir/articulo-314302-colegios-medida-del-clima

10/2011Inventario, Exhibition Catalogue, 1st Edition of Odeon International Contemporary Art Fair, Bogotá, Colombia.

10/2010EnVozAlata collective / A varias manos stencil workshop in Villa Juliana, Exposition, Biblioteca La Ladera, Medellin, Colombia. Collateral exposition at the VII Iberoamerican Bienal of Architecture and Urbanism regarding the projects presented of the workshop 1st Encounter of Expanded Architecture, Bogota, Colombia. Awards2010First Prize, national public competition Good Architecture, Excellent Pedagogy, for both Amazon and Andean regions. Competition for building solutions to reconstruct the national educational platform damaged by the rain seasons of 2009-2010.

2010Second Prize, national public competition Good Architecture, Excellent Pedagogy, for both Caribbean and Pacific regions. Competition for building solutions to reconstruct the national educational platform damaged by the rain seasons of 2009-2010. 2010Thesis Nominated to the 10th Architecture Students National

Annual Competition with the project Transferia.

2010Academic Recognition for Academic Excellence throughout Architecture Studies at Universidad de los Andes.Colombian Society of Architecture2009-2010Honorable Thesis. The configuration of a border as an urban articulator: case study of the Island of the Sun.Thesis Director: Mauricio Pinilla and Fernando De La Carrera.

Languages

Spanish, English, Portuguese, French.Software: Microsoft Office, ArchiCAD, SketchUp, AutoCAD, Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign.

Travel Experience

Countries VisitedColombia, Brazil, Venezuela, Peru, México, United States, Canada, France, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece, Netherlands, Germany, Czech Republic, United Kingdom, Egypt, Israel, China, Japan, Singapore.

Other Information

Attended Culver Summer Military Academy under the Aviation Program in i998 – 1999 – 2001 and 2002. Other activities include piano and guitar playing, and soccer.



In the same way that construction is achieved only through the transforma-tion of matter and the transformation of landscape elsewhere, the realm of

architectural design has evolved through time as the transformation, reinter-pretation and super-imposition of knowledge and information. With each built structure a process of alteration of landscape and matter begins, and when it is completed, a process of decay also starts; a moment of ar-chitectural knowledge is frozen and represented for as long as the structure lasts in its initially conceived form. There is nothing new under the sun consisted of hoisting 3.5 tons of earth into a small chamber of a 15th century palace and then compacting it into a solid rammed earth object. We wanted to provoke discussion regarding topics of tradition, contemporaneity, territory and the built environment. The installation formally suggests to the observer how architecture depends in the form of territory, energy, and resources. We felt that working with earth would be the most appropriate material to evoke this discussion for three reasons:

i. Understanding earth as a basic construction material used all over the world. ii. Traditional building techniques necessarily depend on oral tradition or trans-formation of knowledge to evolve and survive.iii. The plastic notion that conjures the act of subtracting compacted earth from the ground to mold it into new shapes without interfering in its material capacities.

Therefore in order for us to make it possible to build this installation in rammed earth, we had to submit ourselves to the learning process of the technique. We traveled to a colonial town in the Santander region of Colombia called Barichara where rammed earth is commonly used. Through a construction workshop called Building Local, we got familiarized with the technique. Afterwards we had to do some tests in the outskirts of Bogota

There is nothing new under the sun Venice Architecture Biennale 2012

01 type rammed earth installation year 2012

exhibition traces of centuries and future steps2012 Venice Architecture Biennale

team altiplano + *carlos balénlocation barichara, tabio, colombia /

palazzo bembo, venice, italy


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where we ended up building a 1 to 1 model of the installation for Venice. This process enriched our experience with the technique and was true to the essence of transformation and trespassing of knowledge and information.

We created a web platform to continue discussions surrounding the project:http://www.rammedweb.com/

The idea is to invite different architects, artists, or other field professionals, to pro-pose a topic and submit an image that accompanies the topic in order to create a one week debate, discussion, or knowledge transfer regarding the selected theme.

Some possible themeswe are staring on are:

i. Landscape and territory control. Different way to transform to create architecture. {city and nature} ii. The architects purpose within the built environment. {particular and personal experiences in different cities of the world} iii. Architecture as an empirical approach.

*Carlos Balen. Architect of the Universidad de los Andes. Worked with Simón Vélez as resident architect for the Indupalma Headquarters in Barrancabermeja, Colombia. Founder of Balen Arquitectos. Carlos was invited by Altiplano to participate in the thinking and construction of There is Nothing New Under the Sun for the Venice Bi-ennale 2012.

Ramming earth in barichara. a first layer of rock isolates from humidity of the floor. the wooden

formwork {2.44m x 1.22m} contains the earth while it’s rammed with a wooden pisón. earth was mixed with

lime and a small percentage of cement to assure dura-bility to exposure. the wall was sealed from water with cactus oil. ancient technique; knowledge transforma-tion via oral communication and practical experience.


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The building. reflections on the contemporary built landscape. inside the rammed earth build-

ing a computer screen hosted the web application along the four months of biennale.


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InventoryFeria Odeón, Contemporary International Art Fair

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[...] And yet I hesitate, I hesitate to... to end. Yes, there it is, it’s time

it ended and yet I hesitate to

— Samuel Beckett

Pieces. Fragments of a fictional place. The men who organized and held dreams after the open door of an odeon, a day they had to close it.

Endgame, Fin de partie. From the end of the game we started our game. In-ventory material left in place unassisted, full of intangible memory. Like a ship without pilot we start on a journey through the layers of time displayed on the walls and naked structures of the old TPB. We collected wood col-umns, steel beams, desks and all sorts of dusty rubble could find along the way. Recorded signed the wreckage. We invented our idle inventory making visible the potential of the materials in order to create new conformations, share insights and random thoughts. Taking away a decade of rest, we sus-pended columns and beams to form a small auditory, architecture, structure, elliptical sculpture or shell.

From the history of this enigmatic and emblematic building, space of art

and culture of Bogota we reckon fragments and gaps. Where are the invento-

ries, equipment and objects left in the course of the years of the TPB? Perhaps

in the memory of people. The story is heard, chopped, stolen, sticks, reorganizes

and invents, not encapsulated or embalming. When a piece of memory passes

in front we play with it and let it go. We release a collection, bricolage over bri-

colage arranged for visitors that enter the newly opened door of the Candelaria

can build relationships and wander a place that appears.

a l t i p l a n o was commissioned an intervention for the first Odeon art

fair in Bogota. The fair is held in the old TPB building, it began as a theater,

used as a tv studio finally abandoned for nearly 10 years. We decided to map

everything we found.

type installation year 2011

exhibition feria odeón, contemporary international art fair altiplano + *danilo volpato

location fundación teatro odeón, bogotá, colombia


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Once we had the complete inventory of the material available at the building

we proceeded to decide the space and type of intervention we were going to

build. We found columns, beams, desks, tables, doors and drawers amongst

other. The intervention became an addition of three functions; contemplative

space, exhibition space for the inventory and an auditory for the conferences

held during the art fair.

*Danilo Volpato is a brazilian artist by ECA/USP. Lives and works between

Sao Paulo and Bogota. He was invited by Altiplano to collaborate in the thinking,

production and construction of Inventario.

All cultural content of the fair {workshops, confer-ences} took place at the sculpture - auditorium. The floating beams slightly balanced their figure

after decades of repose.


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Data sheets of abandoned objects.

following scientific methods of organizing and classifying objects. using the process of inventory an enterprise faces when encountered with bankruptcy. a rigorous approach to all the left-behind objects

found in the old teatro popular de bogota conduced to hours of measurements, observations, and fictions. once concluded all articles had been systematized by the routine to a series of datasheets that

commenced to share a story.


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Public competition Buena Arquitectura, Excelente PedagogÍa

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During 2010 and 2011 La Niña phenomenon damaged more than 3,300 schools nationwide. This situation compromises the education of thou-

sands of children who require an efficient response in practical architectural solutions that strengthen academic dynamics and the national project of ed-ucation. The Ministry of National Education as promoter, cooperating with Foundation Argos and the Colombian Society of Architects as an advisory body design a public competition for the design of architectural prototypes of the spaces that compose the educational infrastructure for the different regions of the country. In the emergency caused by the raining season, we propose a project that seeks to go beyond formal solutions. Architecture in series that can deal, in a versatile, simple and efficient form the following aspects: transportation, installation and construction, cultural adaptation, climate, topography and the needs of each region. The schools are prefabricated modular buildings, comprising the circulation, fur-niture and public space. These modules for its multiple functions sizing easily to the topography and generate diverse spatial relationships between prototypes, separated each other by courtyards and streets. The different possibilities that can occur between outdoor corridors, indoor corridors, courtyards, ramps, stairs, steps, pots, benches, bins, games, drinking fountains, among others, stimulate, encounter, games, meetings and discussion. Integrally forming the identity of an individual, social group and in turn the entire educational community. The project takes as its starting point the need to configure the architecture from a pedagogical thinking, understanding architec-tural space as a teaching strategy. In this way architectural space creates pedagog-ical situations and architectural situations fabricate pedagogical spaces.

type emergency school prototypes ywinner 1st prize - andean region

ywinner 1st prize - amazonic region second place - caribbean region

second place - pacific regionjury: giancarlo mazzanti, alejandro sokoloff, elly burchardt, antonio

manrique, carlos hernandez year 2011 — ongoing

team altiplano + mema arquitectos + carlos balén +alejandro quintana

location colombia


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Taking advantage that most of the national territory has wood as an accessi-ble resource, of renewable capacity, and low carbon footprint. We decided to make this material the main element in the construction of the prototypes. All the prototypes are constructed with the same elements: structural wood frames, green roof, and wood panels that compose the façade. The materiality of the panels varies according to the region. The different needs of climate, ventilation, lighting, noise and temperature control of each site determine the final design of the façade. That way and recognizing our immense climatic diversity the panels ensure that the system is applicable not only to the general conditions of each region, but also those specific to each location. The use of elements with openings in the façades, transparent chimneys and reflective ceiling, encourages cross ven-tilation and indirect overhead lighting, saving energy and generating the comfort demanded by school spaces. The system is able to support standard materials by using a 1.20m x 1.20m grid. The construction system is divided into two parts, a simple frame structure and façade panels formed from prefabricated elements, ensuring easy transporta-tion of materials and a mass production process; simple, inexpensive, easily con-structed, lightweight, fast and above all, feasible and realistic.

Prototypes of these schools are currently being built throughout the country.


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Amazon region prototypeAndean region prototype


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Pacific region prototypeCaribbean region prototype


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CASA PRIMAVERABuena Arquitectura, Excelente PedagogÍa

04

Casa Primavera is a social housing solution focused on providing a hu-man response to the problems caused by the rainy season of 2010 and

2011. It is an initiative that understands the immediate need for shelter of many affected, however more than a shelter the solution provides a home. The house responds to the governmental area requirements of Vivienda de Interés Prioritario. It´s 43.5 m2 distributed in two bedrooms, one bathroom, and one open social space that includes the living room, dining room and kitchen. All spaces have natural lighting and ventilation to ensure bio-climate performance. The typology in L gives the possibility of having a courtyard that provides a pro-ductive space for the family. Traditional elements such as the porch, open kitchen and yard to ensure proper ownership housing families.

The design of the Casa Primavera is based on three fundamental points:

I. Responsive Architecture:

p Housing permits and proposes future growth in three stages de-signed specifically to contain productive spaces that adapt to the fami-lies economic growth.p With the possibility of a productive space for the families economic purpose, when put together the houses build a neighborhood, which builds a community. p Type in “L” that forms a courtyard sheltered by the house. Cross ventilation and natural lighting in all spaces.p Traditional cultural elements of rural regions as the porch {social interaction element}, the open kitchen, and patio.

type prefabricated housing year 2012 - ongoing

team altiplano location northern colombia / diverse regions


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a r e a : 43.55m2

II. Efficient Construction

p The concrete foundations are prefabricated and do not require skilled labor for installation.pThe house is built with a prefabricated PVC modular wall system, which allows a quick, clean and minimal waste construction.p The PVC has a high aesthetic quality aspect, which is absolutely re-sistant to harsh climate. It is very effective with hygienic standards since it works against the proliferation of fungi and other humidity related affectations.

III. Quality and Economy

p All features are made with high quality materials and are supported by respectable construction industries in the country. This guarantees minimal maintenance. p The system is extremely economical, allowing greater infrastructure for less. {Stove, plating baths, fixtures, dishwasher, PVC window frames, etc. are all included}. This makes the house ready for living once the habitants receive the home.

area: 43.55m2


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Residential building bell 134aBuilding by a grid

05

Located in a corner of northern Bogota, it has a street on one side and a pedestrian trail on the other. Initially the lot was made up of four houses

in a row that where brought down. The new building will have 24 apart-ments from 90m2 to 150m2. The intention was to have as many apartments as possible looking to the street, avoiding internal apartments. Each floor is comprised of 6 apartments, all different from each other, which sought to maximize the use of exterior facades having just one indoor unit. We used a repeated structural module on the main facade, in order to reverse the posi-tion of the terraces in the adjoining apartment floors, thus ensuring a rhythm of voids and planes.

The client was looking a way to differentiate from the rest of the residen-

tial projects around it. We accomplished this by using good quality materials,

maximizing the communal areas, ensuring a patio in the back of the project and

increasing the size and quality of space.

type housingyear 2012 — in construction

team altiplanosize 3600 mts2

location bogotá, colombia


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06Transferia: an architecture thesis

Located high up in the Oriental Mountain Range of Colombia in a pla-teau crossed by rivers that flow from the Eastern Hills that flank the city,

Bogotá always enjoyed a privileged geographical position. Sadly, throughout the twentieth century, the city’s hydrological corridors were systematically covered and canalized to make way for a fast growing metropolis. One of these corridors, the San Francisco River, was the fundamental axis in Bogota’s establishment and development and had been almost completely erased from the collective memory of the city’s inhabitants. This situation presented a perfect opportunity for the proposal of a proj-ect of urban re-vitalization through the rich but forgotten Ecological Struc-ture of the region. transferia acts as a two-part strategy: A large-scale urban proposal, and a specific building that acts as the central hub of said proposal.

Unearthing Bogota’s Environmental Wealth

In order to guarantee a real, long-term recovery of Bogota’s buried rivers, a self-sustainable strategy had to be considered for their use. A greatly inefficient transportation system and the predominantly North – South direction of Bogota’s main vehicular axes make for a great opportunity to utilize the city’s East – West flowing hydrological corridors as sustainable mobility channels. A Sustainable Interurban Hydrological Transportation Sys-tem is therefore proposed, unearthing and revealing the massive web of rivers, canals and streams and regenerating the green belts that surround them to create longitudinal parks, while establishing a ferry based system that could bring a new alternative to public transport.

connecting the dots

Along with the urban strategy, a landmark building is also proposed to celebrate

type housingyear 2013




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the rebirth of the city’s hydrological structure, establishing an example of how architecture can embrace the river instead of denying it and to add value to an already deteriorated part of the area. The building is placed in the current bus parking lot of the Regional Bus Terminal of Bogota, which is located along the San Francisco River basin, and constitutes a clear example of the city’s former attitude of denial toward the river. The region’s old railway also passes between the Terminal and the River, and according to current city plans it will soon be restored to become the new Regional Railway. Taking advantage of this strategic mobility crossing, the building acts as a central transportation hub that connects future Subway and Proximity Trains to the existing adjacent Bus Station and the proposed Hydrological Transport System, while encompassing around the San Francisco River to give it the importance it deserves in the contemporary landscape. The proj-ect, thus, creates an oasis inside the city through a hybrid building {housing, hotel, offices and commerce} that enables urban life to grow in an important but disconnected part of the city. The Project occurs as an urban landmark, factorizing elements of different natures to rise as a great unifying, regenerating connecting and multi-scale flow transmitting entity that appeals to the natural memory of the surroundings and forms a controlled landscape in a monumental space, sewing the immediate city and proposing a better quality of life that is sustained in the natural public space for its inhabitants.

retaking the river

the loop like shape of the building emphasizes the new atti-tude of embrace and celebration that buildings can now have

toward ecological corridors.

Transversal 66

Calle 33


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Integrating systemsthe building acts as an organizer and media-tor between the new hydrological transport

system, the regional train system, the country- wide bus system and the urban green corridor.


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Comercio

Ptos. Fijos

Hotel

Z. Comunales

Viv. A

Viv. B

Oficinas

Parqueo

Hall Transportes

Abordaje

Av. Boyacá/Calle 13

Las Americas/Fucha

AutoSur/Cra. 30

Caracas/Restrepo

San Cristobal

FerrocarrilSur

AK 50/Cll 24

Terminal

Av. Boyacá/C. Hayuelos

Cll. 13/El Vergel

Cra. 30/Muzu

LUGAR Y USO SALITRE OCCIDENTAL


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Miu mobile interactive units

07

The understanding of the complex relationships between different nat-ural phenomena that make up the Earth’s vast array of ecosystems has

become paramount to the sustainable development of human kind. As architects, our practice must not be reduced to the mere design of walls and ceilings; as technology advances we must explore different fields of action where we can apply conscious, logical thought processes and analysis to different problematic situations. The Mobile Interactive Units are a hive mind of interactive spaces where users can experience different representations of natural events through light and sound. The project mixes different thoughts on the ecological paradigm with project intentions that emphasize on digital, analogous, social and environmental inter-actions through the design and construction of specific immersive devices that warp our spatial perception.

miu 5 was designed to represent graphical exaggerations of how different natural phenomena directly influence evolution and adaptation processes. Fluctuating exterior environmental conditions {temperature, light, humid-ity} are measured through the use of piezoelectric sensors, and a computer processes the information in order to project a mutated image on the entrance wall that evolves in different ways according to its current habitat. This project was designed and built under the tutorship of Felipe Mesa {Plan B Arquitectos} and Hernando Barragán, and was coded using Wiring.

type interactive unitsyear 2013




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The longhouse

08

Changing times and children moving out prompted our client to ask us to

re-think her house, which was a neo colonialist home that had been inhab-

ited by her and her family for the last 30 years.

The prior configuration made the house seem empty and un-suited for

a single occupant. The general layout and the size/use ratio of spaces was

very representative of past times, but was now obsolete. Even more so given

her new situation.

The house, a 50-meter long neo-colonialist home in Bogotá that spanned

from one street to another, had one entrance on each street. Because of parking

convenience, the main entrance had been out of use and the back door had re-

placed it as the main entry point.

The decision was thus made to improve the back entrance, and to cut the

house in the middle point inserting a new open space volume that could serve as

a buffer between both entry points.

By joining the new volume with the kitchen and both entrances, the percep-

tion of a single open space is enhanced to help the client inhabit the whole house

when she is alone inside it.

type renovation and new building

year 2012-2013

team altiplano

size 600 mts2


photography Santiago Pinyol


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Flower crops need great infrastructure for the planting, seeding and trans-portation of they’re plants.

After being commissioned for the second time to design and build a pavilion

for a flower crop company at the Proflora Flower Trade Show, and having won

best pavilion in the fair the first time around, we identified three important di-

rectives that shaped the path ahead:

p The necessity for economy and ease of construction.

p The ephemeral nature of a pavilion makes it paramount to use reusable and

recycled materials in order not to cause waste.

p The vast resources of materials available to us in the crops.

Keeping that in mind, we identified several specific pieces of hardware used

in the flower production process such as baskets for transportation and seed-

ling trays, many of which were out of use, and used them as our building ma-

terials taking advantage of they’re repetitive, fixed size and modular natures.

After much experimentation, we identified the virtues of each piece and de-

cided to use them around a simple and low cost wooden structure to make

up the final pavilion.

After the fair was over and the pavilion was deconstructed, most of the

pieces were able to return to they’re original purposes. We won best pavilion

in the fair again.

type Pavilion

team Altiplano + Pablo Ricaurte

year 2013

size 60 m2

location Bogota, Colombia

photography Santiago Pinyol


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p este portafolio fue diseñado e impreso en bogotá, colombia,

se usaron las fuentes tipograficas adobe calson pro.

Portfolio Felipe Velasquez P

Documents

Transcript of Portfolio Felipe Velasquez P