Architecture Classics: Ciudadela Colsubsidio / Germán Samper

Written by Dan Gamboa Bohorquez | Translated by Antonia Piñeiro

In the western part of Bogotá, between Calle 80 and the Juan Amarillo Wetland, lies one of the most interesting urban and architectural projects in the history of Colombia: the Ciudadela Colsubsidio. Created in 1983 as a response to Law 21 of 1982, which required social security organizations to provide housing for their members. Colsubsidio, the project manager, hired Germán Samper to tackle a 130-hectare plot located between two well-established neighborhoods (Santa Bárbara and Bolivia). The challenge was to connect these neighborhoods while creating a citadel that would consolidate various essential services for a population that, due to its geographical location, was distant from the center of Bogotá.

The challenge Samper faced was to develop a clear urban structure that would articulate the existing neighborhoods along the east-west axis and, along the north-south axis, connect the Juan Amarillo Wetland with Calle 80, the main road that would serve the entire neighborhood. From the initial design, it was evident that the architect was concerned with creating and developing a spatial experience for the residents, where the neighborhood itself would be the manager of spaces that directly integrate daily life with architecture, responsible for defining the spatial boundaries they aimed to create.

Samper had a clear idea in mind: to create a city within a city, establishing various layers of spatial proximity, from public to private. One might think that this structure is what creates shelter within the very concept of the citadel, transitioning from an open city with single-family homes to public squares and culminating in a closed city, defined by multi-family blocks that, in turn, enclose private squares.

It's worth noting that the project ended up being 60% public space and 40% private space, yet it accommodates 35,000 residents. The facade plays an important role, as it is the surface that imparts character to the various spaces, a clear reference to old squares in Amsterdam or Brussels. The use of 'tolete' brick (in which even iron bars are introduced through its perforations as a structural solution) is the material language of the citadel, in line with the Colombian architectural language of the 1980s.

The circulation routes are indeed one of the strong points of the project: on the west-east axes, the vehicular roads are clearly defined, integrating the two adjacent neighborhoods while responsibly completing the urban layout. On the north axis, the routes integrate the entrance to the neighborhood, passing through the residences and culminating at the northernmost point with sports facilities on the banks of the wetland.

It's worth noting that one of Germán Samper's strongest intentions was to propose a different model of community based on the ideas of Aldo Rossi or even Karl Brunner's proposals for Bogotá in the 1930s. A key point to highlight is that pedestrians have significant importance over vehicles, as they are prioritized in circulation without diminishing the importance of cars. This is evident in the permeability of the squares for both vehicles and pedestrians at the same ground level.

The project's intention includes a clear parameter, with a strong commitment to creating a socially responsible neighborhood that accommodates all socioeconomic strata and possibilities. This concern is evident when single-family homes (7 blocks) and multi-family homes (15 blocks) are created within the same project, allowing for different prices to be offered to the social security members. The remaining project spaces are allocated for urban facilities such as schools, a parish, green areas, and even a shopping center, consolidating the concept of a citadel.

The development of the project didn't happen overnight; it was a result of various stages that led to its completion two decades later. While the initial sketches were made around 1983, it wasn't until 1989 that the construction of the first homes began. Subsequently, in the following years of 1994 and 2004, the subsequent phases were delivered, and the project was completed in 2006, with an estimated total of 14,000 homes.

From the outset of the project, Germán Samper understood that space is the builder of social behaviors and that urban space is precisely a continuation of the protective space created by housing, an extension of the concept of refuge. Yes, Samper dares to propose a new urban scheme of city blocks and superblocks to put into practice his concept of how he believes community life should be, beyond the neighborhood phenomenon, and to guide architecture in channeling his idea. He took a calculated risk, driven by confidence in the initial sketch as the strategy to realize his concept of community, which led to the success of an interesting project from which there is much to learn and continue learning.