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THESIS PROJECT - 2022

ALEJANDRA RESTREPO RUIZ

PA(I)SAJE BOTÁNICO

PA(I)SAJE

BOTÁNICO

2022

Graduation/ Thesis Project

Faculty of Architecture and Design

Universidad de los Andes

Alejandra Restrepo Ruiz

Professors: Claudio Rossi / Daniela Atencio/ Daniel Bonilla

PA(I)SAJE BOTÁNICO

“BOTANICAL PASSAGE”

CONTENT

THE VALLEY _001

THE RIVER _002

THE TERRITORY _003

THE FLORA _004

THE FAUNA _005

REFERENCES _006

INITIAL APROACH _007

THE PASSAGE _008

BIBLIOGRAPHY _009

THE OUTFALL _010

“And now I cannot remember how I would have had it. It is not a conduit (confluence?) but a place.

The place, of movement and an order. The place of old order. But the tail end of the movement is

new. Driving us to say what we are thinking. It is so much like a beach after all, where you stand and

think of going no further. And it is good when you get to no further. It is like a reason that picks you

up and places you where you always wanted to be. This far, it is fair to be crossing, to have crossed.

Then there is no promise in the other. Here it is. Steel and air, a mottled presence, small panacea

and lucky for us. And then it got very cool.”

-John Ashbery

THE VALLEY _001

MEDELLÍN

Medellín, Colombia is located in the Valle de Aburrá, a geographical valley surrounded

by smaller cities which have become part of the current conurbation including Bello,

Itaguí, Envigado, Copacabana and Girardota.

BELLO

Bello is a Colombian municipality politically divided and constituted by 11 Comunas (Communes)

and 19 Veredas (Small district or county). It is the northern gateway to the city of Medellin, making

it a geostrategic territory for farmers, workers and residents as a crossing-through area. It is the

second largest municipality in the metropolitan area of the Aburrá Valley.

The history of Bello differs from that of the typical villa conquered by the Spaniards. In this territory

the conquerors established their homes and as a sign of prestige and nobility they built chapels in

their properties. Bello wasn’t founded under the idea of having a regular layout of streets and plazas

contrary to what happened in Villa de la Candelaria (now-a-days Medellín).

The economic milestone that prompted the municipality and its development was the establishment

of Fabricato Factory in 1923, a cloth and linen manufacturer. Its presence marked the history of

Bello as well as the textile industrial activity which characterized the population for several decades.

Around 1983, the municipality started a process of transformation, the industries started to relocate,

the economic activities became less complex and informal occupations augmented. Aligned to this

phenomenon came a series of governmental policies that offered subsidized housing in Bello that led

this territory to be the recipient of large migratory flows from the Aburrá Valley. This urbanization

processes were not accompanied and guided by experts or based on an adequate urban planning

policy which, had as a consequence the disconnection between various territories, the lack of adequate

infrastructure and poorly designed public spaces. This municipality embodies the challenges

of a society in process of transformation from rurality to urbanity.

The specificity of this project looks closely at a portion of the Medellin River, which

divides and runs south-north of the valley, between the crossing of Tulio Ospina

Sports Complex and Central Park Racetrack in Bello. Along its path, there are

floodable and marsh lands suitable for interventions allowing to envision connections

to the broader intervention being accomplished in Medellin as the “Parques del Río

Medellín” (Medellín River Parks)

Old Railway Station

Metro Transit System

Avenida Regional Oriental

Bellavista Lake

Central Park Racketrack

Quitasol Hill

Medellín River


Quitasol Hill

Niquia Metro Station

Avenida del Rio

Metro Workshop and

Administrative offices

Medellín River


Central Park Racetrack

THE RIVER _002

Due to the topography of the Aburrá Valley,

the components of the hydrological system

including rivers, sewage networks and water

runoffs are directed towards the Medellín

River. This occurs mainly during the rainy

season which causes overflow in the system

and constant floodings on the highways and

neighborhoods located on both sides of the

river. The project implements a floodable

area as a mechanism to diminish the risks

The lack of planning and the excessive growth of the city of Medellín and its surrounding

municipalities has disconnected the city along the axis of the Medellín River and divided

the city into two. Pedestrian crossings are unable to suffice the necessities of the population

and have derived in the loss of sense of belonging of the river which, during many

years, was the place of interaction and creation of activities to the people of Medellín.

The river and the 2 highways, three mega-infrastructures or motor way interceptors

have caused a disconnection between both sides of the city thus have resulted in the

emergence of two “land islands” or detached sites: Tulio Ospina Sports Park and Central

Park Racetrack.

Natural watercourses and drainage are destroyed as a result of urbanization, the natural

retention of runoff waters by plants and soil vanishes which leads to a diminishment in the

natural water storage capacity. This increases the rain water runoff rates and the overall

volume resulting in a higher risk of urban flooding.

FLOODINGS

THE TERRITORY _003

MORPHOLOGY

Understanding the structural elements within the territory, such as topography, runoff waters, fauna

and flora and any manmade interventions or construction, as well as the qualities of the specific site

was fundamental to allow anchoring the proposal to the greater context.

This context, involves a morphology confronted by 3 specific visions:

The natural landscape,

The urban landscape and,

The geometrical typologies seen in the environment or landscape in itself.

Each one of these characteristics or conditions separately require systematic analysis thus they

lead the way to approach and, each one can define as follows a given territory:

NATURAL LANDSCAPE: defined as the existing conditions and natural structures such as the

waterways (rivers, streams, creeks), wetlands and flooding areas, forestry, diverse groups of trees,

bushes and gardens (determined by diverse densities, heights, colors, etc.).

It is the natural embedded landscape in the territory.

URBAN LANDSCAPE: the appearance of built volumes.

It is the skyline that can be drawn as an image of the landscape within the territory.

GEOMETRICAL TYPOLOGIES: translation of existing layouts within the project site.

It is the definition and requirements at different scales and systemic work, as part of a reading specifying

characteristics and selective landscape or urban facts. It could determine topological items

to characterize parts of the proposed project or as part of a bigger conceptualization.

THE FLORA _004

GUAYACÁN AMARILLO

Scientific Name: Handroanthus chrysanthus

Attraction of fauna: High

Light Requirements: High

Maximun Height: 35m

HORTENSIAS

Scientific Name: Hydrangea

Attraction of fauna: Medium

Light Requirements: Medium

Maximun Height: 4.5m

DIENTE DE LEON

Scientific Name: Taraxacum officinale



Maximum Height: 0.6m

CEDRO

Scientific Name: Cedrus



Maximun Height: 35m

POTO

Scientific Name: Epipremnum aureum

Attraction of fauna: Low


Maximun Height: 20m

MANO DE LEON

Scientific Name: Monstera deliciosa


Light Requirements: Low

Maximum Height: 3m

ANTURIO

Scientific Name: Anthurium andreanum




HELECHO MACHO

Scientific Name: Dryopteris filix-mas




MADROÑO

Scientific Name: Arbutus unedo



Maximum Height: 15m

CAOBAS

Scientific Name: Swietenia macrophylla



Maximun Height: 50m

TOSCANA

Scientific Name:



Maximun Height: 0.9cm

ÉBANO

Scientific Name: Caesalpinia ebano



Maximum Height: 18m

THE FAUNA _005

TORTOLA

Scientific Name: Columbina talpacoti

GRILLO

Scientific Name: Orphulella concinnula

PLATANERO

Scientific Name: Coereba flaveola

AZULEJO

Scientific Name: Thraupis episcopus

MARIPOSA MARINERA

Scientific Name: Thisbe lycorias

COLIBRÍ RUBI TOPACIO

Scientific Name: Chrysolampis mosquitus

PAJARO CARPINTERO

Scientific Name: Melanerpes Rubricapillus

COLIBRI COLIROJO

Scientific Name: Amazilia Tzacatl

PERIQUITO

Scientific Name: Brotogeris Jugularis

CABECIAZUL

Scientific Name: Tangara Cyanicollis

ABEJA ANGELITA

Scientific Name: Tetragonisca angustula

GUACHARACA

Scientific Name: Ortalis Columbiana

REFERENCES _006

PROJECTS

Brooklyn Botanic Garden Visitor Center- Weiss & Manfredi

Toronto Lower Don Lands- Weiss & Manfredi

Capita Spring - Bjarke Ingels Group: BIG

The Technion’s Entrance Gate- Schwartz Besnosoff Architects

INITIAL APROACH _007

ITERATIONS

The initial approach to the project consisted in creating 16 iterations which parted from 4 guiding

concepts:

Buildings as built elements that shape open context

Staples or connectors such as streets, bridges

Seams or strips, green elements that tie together a context, an urban forest

Topography or geographical features of a given terrain

Through different mechanisms and viewpoints of the four concepts, each one of these iterations

creates a series of connections/ relationships/ additional networks between the territories located

on both sides of the river. Thus knitting together the context as a whole.

BUILDINGS

STAPLES

SEAMS

TOPOGRAPHY

THE PASSAGE_008

The project proposes a cross-river connection through a route or path that forces those who want

to cross from one side to the other, to walk through different levels of the Passage. The ramps are

arranged in such a way that when entering the botanical passage, the passerby is invited to contemplate

the space and its surroundings from different visuals that are generated by walking through

the ramps and floors.

“THE RESULT IS NOT A CRAVEN, APOLOGETIC ATTEMPT TO DENY

THAT WHAT WAS ONCE NATURE IS NOW ARCHITECTURE. IT’S

A MODEL OF ONE WAY THOSE TWO OPPOSED SYSTEMS CAN

COEXIST.”

- PHILIP NOBEL

1

2

3

4

5

1

2

3

4

5

The movement through the space exposes moments of connection both with the space inside the

passage, as well as with the environment in which it is located. The spatial experience varies according

to how the space is traversed. The botanical passage adopts different identities (sizes, landscapes

and colors) according to the flowering periods of the vegetation present in the space. Therefore,

it is a changing landscape and the space can always be explored and perceived in a different way.

CHUNK

AXONOMETRIC SECTION

A BOTANICAL GARDEN IS AN UNUSUAL KIND OF MUSEUM - A

FRAGILE COLLECTION CONSTANTLY IN FLUX. AS A CONSTRUC-

TED NATURAL ENVIRONMENT COMPOSED OF A LIVING CO-

LLECTION, SUCH A GARDEN DEPENDS ON MAN-MADE INFRAS-

TRUCTURES TO THRIVE.

- PUBLIC NATURES , WEISS/ MANFREDI

STRUCTURE

PLANTING

DETAIL

SYSTEM

COLUMNS

BEAMS

JOINT

WATER WORKS

WATER HARVESTING

The project looks out to the Medellín river and uses water and its cycles as a part of the development

of the strategies that the Botanical Passage proposes.

In order to have sustainable gardens, the passage has 4 columns designed to collect water from the

river to further take it to the treatment and storage tanks and finally use the water to irrigate the

gardens.

As part of the proposal, the riverbed is modified and widened in the area where the project is located

taking into account the water patterns and levels hence, a floodable area is generated. This area is

located in the lower level of the passage and according to the changes of water levels of the river, it

becomes a walkable space. This intends for “the river to come closer to the people or for the people

to come closer to the river”.

The widening of the river also helps to reduce the risk of flooding in the areas surrounding the project.

BIBLIOGRAPHY_009

1. Public Natures. Evolutionary Infrastructures - Weiss/ Manfredi

2. The Barracks of Pion: Developing the Edge of the Park of Versailles -

Michel Desvigne/ Inessa Hansch

3. Paisaje de los Paisajes, Recopilación de Ponencias del Curso

4. Designing Greenways. Sustainable Landscapes for Lature and People

- Paul Cawood/ Daniel Somers

THE OUTFALL_010

CONCLUSIONS

The project started with the idea of connecting the areas that, due to the overflowing growth of

the city, had been separated by large infrastructures. During the process it became evident that

this disconnection exists along the entire axis of the Medellín River and that there is an urgent

need to reweave the city. It was also possible to understand how the urban space, no matter how

public it may be, if not properly connected to the urban fabric, traditions and context, will not

achieve a correct implantation within a territory.

As a person raised in Medellin, I have been able to have a personal approach to the different problems

that the project addresses and intends to solve or diminish. The Medellín river has become

an axis of development for the city; its importance is so notorious that the layout of Line A of the

city’s Metro system and the main highways follow the silhouette of the river. It has been fundamental

to the city of Medellin and the Aburrá Valley to return the public space to the citizen and to

turn people’s gaze back towards the Medellín River.

FURTHER WORK

There is clearly future work to be done on exploring the scalability of the botanical passage and its

potential replicability within the territory.

It could be interesting to evaluate if the aproach the proyect had can be applied in other contexts

and to understan which other factors can potentialize the impact of the urban intervention to the

broader scale.

Finally, it would be interesting to understand how these local or zonal scale projects could be integrated

on a metropolitan scale, thus reconnecting the different municipalities along the aburra

valley.

AKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Daniela Atencio

Claudio Rossi

Daniel Bonilla

Tomas Neu

Liliana Giraldo

Daniela Restrepo Ruiz

Luis Enrique Restrepo Santamaría

Maria Elena Ruiz A

Valentina Vélez

Catalina Salazar

Lina Sanabria

Maria Weisner

Marianna Palacino

Valeria Ayala

Camila Dussan

Ángela Rodriguez

Vanessa Hernandez

Maria Sofía Jassir Acosta

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