This building in this photo is the old station of Picaleña. The project I'm (going to be) working on is a part of a big research project investigating the meaning of cultural identity in developing countries.
Durability is not only important in technique and energy but also in cultural elements. In a country like Colombia there isn’t much public interest in cultural and architectural heritage and in the social identity of the people. Old characterizing buildings are being replaced by American looking architecture.
This project focuses on learning how creative you can be with the original typologies and the redirection of old(er) architecture.
I will help develop strategies to redefine the qualities of the typologies in terms of a new future.
This project is a multidisciplinary cooperation with the University of Ibagué and is done under the supervision of professors of the University of Pisa and Rome.
The first half of August, there will be a course where we shall occupy ourselves with the elements of restauration, technical concepts, history of the architecture, making technical drawings, studying building materials, repair and integration of the building in the environment and exploring new possibilities for the building. The latter will be a continuous work process throughout the following weeks.
Two of my fellow students of Sint-Lucas will accompany me to Ibagué. One of them, Jeroen Stevens, will work on this project and the other one, Marie-Laure Paquet, will work on another one.
