Award-Winning Architects
La Amalia has assembled a dream team of Colombian architects to make Arrambide’s dream a reality. A perfect mix of experience and young talent makes the modernization of La Amalia one of the most exciting architectural projects in Colombia.
Simón Vélez
Simón Vélez is a prize-winning architect from Manizales, Colombia. Famous for his innovative use of bamboo as an essential building component in all his constructions Velez, considers himself an anarchist architect. Born in 1949, he has been happily disrupting modern construction techniques with a “vegetarian” form of architecture for four decades. His award-winning houses, offices, hotels and bridges include joinery systems that utilize bamboo as a permanent structural element throughout. One of his most recent interventions in China, the Crosswater Ecolodge in China is the pinnacle of his lifelong campaign to have bamboo recognised as the world’s most environmentally-friendly building material. For Expo Hanover 2000, he designed and constructed a 2,000-square-meter bamboo pavilion for ZERI Foundation (Zero Emissions Research and Initiative). It was the first time a bamboo structure received a building
permit in Germany. With 6.4 million visitors it became the most popular pavilion of the World Expo. www.simonvelez.net
Plan B Arquitectos
Headed up by brothers, Felipe and Federico Mesa, Plan B Arquitectos, has been involved in award winning architectural projects that include the Orquideorama in Medellin’s Botanical Gardens, prize-winning collaborations for public schools with Giancarlo Mazzanti and more recently the Click Clack Hotel, nominated for the best urban hotel by Wallpaper* magazine. Their work focuses on low impact, environmentally sensitive construction techniques, created with ground-breaking, modular designs. www.planbarq.com
ALH Taller de Arquitectura
Brothers, Santiago, Camilo and Juan Francisco Arango pride themselves on their environmentally friendly brand of architecture. Winners of the award for the best residential project in the Colombian Architecture Biennial 2016, ALH is one of Colombia’s most promising young architectural practices. Their emblematic residence Ed. Matorral used vertical gardens to dramatic effect, inviting Medellin’s flora and fauna to become an integral part of the building’s design.
www.alhtaller.com
Felipe Trujillo Arquitectos
Charged with the masterplan of the La Amalia project, experienced practice, Felipe Trujillo Arquitectos has been responsible for building the mountain holiday homes for Medellin’s most important families for more than two decades. www.felipetrujillo.com
Artists in Residence
Art is set to sit in harmony with nature at Hacienda La Amalia, with installations by award-winning Colombian artists, Mateo Lopez, site specific installations by Hugo Zapata, Susana Mejia, and a regular artist residence on the site for Jose Roca’s nature-inspired gallery, Flora ars+natura