In order to liberate public space in the dense surroundings, the complex is stacked vertically in five levels of exhibition halls, meeting rooms, lobbies, terraces, a large ballroom and service areas. Photo: Ágora Bogotá Centro de Convenciones.
Temperature and CO2 sensors in the meeting rooms activate the motorized gills, which regulate air inlet and reveal the ventilation strategy. Photo: Ágora Bogotá Centro de Convenciones.
The building features high levels of flexibility without compromising its architectural quality that is illuminated and ventilated naturally through an actively responding and acoustically sealed enclosure. Photo: Ágora Bogotá Centro de Convenciones.
Natural lighting and ventilation provide a level of comfort unparalleled in the convention center building type, with minimal energy consumption.
Ágora Bogotá is part of the major urban regeneration strategy of Corferias, the fair and exhibition complex of Bogotá. The initiative aims to develop the fairground towards the grand avenues close by, transforming an old industrial quarter into a new urban centrality in the geographical heart of the city. In order to liberate public space in the dense surroundings, the project seeks verticality in a compact building with a stacked program in five levels of meeting rooms, lobbies and service areas.
The project employs an active breathing envelope in response to the city’s particular equatorial mountain climate. Different strategies have been developed with a diverse team of architects, engineers and consultants. Natural lighting and ventilation provide a level of comfort unparalleled in the convention center building type, with minimal energy consumption. Rainwater collection, landscaping and a permeable covering of the surrounding public space complement the set of sustainable strategies.
Façade details: Motorized blinds and ventilation gills, acoustic barrier, screen-printed glass.
Street level: Pedestrian entrances, lobbies and plazas, native flora enhancing ecology.
Cross section: Main ballroom on top with exceptional city views, stacked lobbies enhancing air flow.
Basement: 1055 car spaces and service areas (kitchen, storage, MEP) with independent vertical circulation.
Meeting levels: 4 main cores (structure, shafts, elevators) and spiral circulation around atrium
Upper levels: Sky lobby with restrooms, terraces and VIPs on level 4 (P4), 4000 pax divisible ballroom on level 5 (P5).
Pedestrian views of building and public spaces: Glass façade dimensions and corner solutions.
Night view: Notoriety through rationality, a new public icon for Bogotá.
Acknowledgement for “Breathing Envelope: Vertically-stacked convention center and public spaces, Bogotá, Colombia” (l-r): Jaime Hill, CEO Holcim Colombia; members of the winning team, Jens Richter, Estudio Herreros; Daniel Bermúdez, Daniel Bermúdez Arquitecto; and Ramón Bermúdez, Estudio Herreros.
Representatives of all five Holcim Awards Acknowledgement prize winners for Latin America, recognised for outstanding public infrastructure projects in Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador, Haiti and Mexico.
Daniel Bermúdez Samper, Daniel Bermúdez Arquitecto, Bogotá, Colombia – Holcim Awards Acknowledgement prize winner, for “Breathing Envelope: Vertically-stacked convention center and public spaces” in Bogotá, Colombia.
Careful analysis of the site and its climatic conditions is at the heart of the Holcim Awards Acknowledgement prize winner. “Breathing Envelope: Vertically-stacked convention center and public spaces” in Bogotá, Colombia establishes a dialog between the fields of architecture and engineering, with both disciplines mutually informing one another, ultimately combining state-of-the-art technologies with formal expression.
Juan Herreros and Daniel Bermúdez