title. Patrimonio del Agua / Water heritage
date. 2018-1 / Bachelor thesis
city. Bogotá
author. Sofía Marín
institution. Universidad de los Andes
professor. Lorenzo Castro
Traces of water: what and where are they? These were the questions that led the path traveled this semester.
From understanding Bogotá and its territory as a space molded by water, on which the construction of a place is carried out by assuming it as “an expectant reality, always waiting for the event that is supposed to be built on it” (Moneo, 1995).
It is understood that the territory is constantly transformed by water which also makes it a habitable space. But this territory is only a “place” when it is intervened by humans, who take advantage of this resource by creating an architecture dedicated specifically for its use: the water infrastructure.
The exploration carried out during the semester was route to discover this infrastructure, and how the history of Bogotá can be told based on the transformations it has had over time. Traces of these mutations can be read in the city if you pay attention. While hunting these remains, a series of historical sites were discovered, they speak of the past and its daily life. However, these historical sites lack patrimonial character as they are absorbed and buried in a glorious past without taking advantage of the potential that would make them a social asset.
Bogotá suffers from lack of public space and sense from belonging from its inhabitants. The sites discovered in this search have the ability to ensure that their latent capital is used if they are assumed as an asset and can eventually guarantee that the city is better to be lived on. Meaning that by recognizing and taking advantage of the potential that these sites offer, a future is built by providing the city with spaces for people. Places that welcome and facilitate bonding between people and the city and between its inhabitants.
The place that is built has the obligation to connect the historical sites to the fabric of public space within the city, generating new relationships between them and the city. The barriers that surround and alienate history disappear making these sites “heritage” by becoming part of the city and its inhabitants. A forgotten place that seeks to revive by remembering its heritage and the water that built it. In such a way that by including this heritage and water in the daily life of Bogotá, permanent spaces are created where the inhabitants find their identity and their sense of belonging. It is a place hidden under the shadows of the past but with the ability to become a landmark within the city.
District: Santa fé
UPZ (Zonal Planning Unit): La Macarena (Nº 92) / Las Nieves (Nº 93)
Extension: 4.517 Ha (3.820 Urban and 3.820 Rural)
Nº of blocks: 787
District: La Candelaria
UPZ (Zonal Planning Unit): La Candelaria (Nº 94)
Extension: 206 Ha (206 Urban)
Nº of blocks: 185
General objective
Take advantage of the possibility and opportunity that water heritage offers by connecting the three systems that make up the space:
the historical sites - dispersed and self-absorbed-, the public space of various scales -fragmented and unconnected- and the water infrastructure from the San Francisco River to Las Aguas, in order to potentiate the area by giving it a new value for the city and its inhabitants.
Specific objectives
• Connect the fragmented public space that articulates what the San Francisco River used to weave together.
• Revive the heritage character understood as the capital of the historical finds.
• Include places of permanence where the territory, its history, its present and its future can be appropriated by every colombian.
The Process
The Project
The Outcome
