Rogelio Salmona: The Latest Architecture and News

On October 24, 2024, the Rogelio Salmona Latin American Architecture Prize award ceremony took place, honoring works that have significantly created meaningful, open, and collective spaces for the public in the region. During the event, held at the Virgilio Barco Public Library auditorium in Bogotá, Colombia, the winners of this prestigious award were announced. This year marked the fourth cycle, titled "Open Spaces/Collective Spaces," with participation from 47 projects.

The jury, composed of international figures such as Sol Camacho (Brazil-Mexico), Nicolás Campodonico (Argentina), Carlos Campuzano (Colombia), and Mauricio Rocha (Mexico), first shortlisted 26 selected works, from which two were awarded the first prize in the Latin America and Colombia categories.

The Centro Cultural García Márquez is an iconic building located in downtown Bogotá. Its sinuous forms and the dialogue it establishes between time and place are perceptible at various scales. The project was initiated by the Fondo de Cultura Económica de México in 2004 as a cultural contribution by its Colombian branch. Designed by Rogelio Salmona, unfortunately, he passed away in October 2007, a year before its completion in 2008.

Named in honor of the 1982 Nobel Prize in Literature Gabriel García Márquez, the project is situated in Bogotá's La Candelaria neighborhood, just one block east of Plaza de Bolívar. This strategic location creates a cultural hub, interconnecting with several neighboring buildings including the Luis Ángel Arango Library, the Banco de la República Museum, 29 university entities, 24 educational institutions, 7 libraries, and a complex of museums and cultural collectives. According to the FCE, it attracts approximately 8,000 users per day.

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Located in the Teusaquillo neighborhood, in the northeastern sector of Bogotá, the Virgilio Barco Library forms a complex integrated by the Simón Bolívar Metropolitan Park and the Virgilio Barco Library Park. The consolidation of the social, recreational, and cultural development center displays the library a particular approach between the built work and the natural capital environment. Through its tour, it progressively reveals the solution of a program designed to form a cultural and landscape ensemble omitting its position within the city.

Recognized as one of Rogelio Salmona's emblematic works, its circular forms open to the environment attract between 60,000 and 65,000 visitors a month. Initially, it was to be called the Simón Bolívar Park Library, due to its proximity to the metropolitan park, but because of the patronage it received from former Colombian president Virgilio Barco, it ended up taking his name.

Architect Mayerlly Cuta along with the architect and visual artist Carlos Alberto Hernández founded Urban Sketchers Bogotá," a worldwide movement of drawing that promotes the practice of drawing in Bogota streets, capturing real-time life in the city.

From October 24 to November 9, an exhibition was held in homage to architect Rogelio Salmona. According to Cuta, they sought to commemorate the architect 11 years after his death by drawing his present works in the city of Bogotá. "As managers, we began to draw and promote his works. Later converting them into an exhibition. The Colombian Society of Architects and the Rogelio Salmona Foundation joined the project, leading to the Drawing to Salmona Call. This call brought together more than 100 people and collected more than 300 drawings that came from different cities in the country and the world."