Colombia. The American Concrete Institute (ACI) awarded the "Construction Excellence Award" to the bioclimatic building inaugurated a few months ago, highlighting the innovation, complexity and achievements in the use of concrete as a construction material.
The Luis Guillermo Aycardi Postgraduate Building is located in the heart of the campus of the Universidad Escuela Colombiana de Ingeniería, as the articulating axis of academic activity and witness to the work of the co-founder of the School, who in life was known as the father of structures.
The modern and solid sustainable construction that was inaugurated last Thursday, May 26, is designed and structured for a total population of 1,290 people: professionals who seek to raise concerns, challenge themselves and contribute to a bright future for the country.
The work, co-financed by Findeter, improves and increases educational environments for graduate students, and makes them conducive to the development of high-quality learning and pedagogical experiences for professional life.
Luis Guillermo Aycardi was responsible for the structural design of this building, whose architecture was conceived by Stefano Anzellini Fajardo, with the direction of the Rector of the School, engineer Alfonso Rodríguez Díaz.
A challenge with its own name
Building the Luis Guillermo Aycardi building was an architectural challenge for the university, as it was carried out during the two years marked by the pandemic.
The result was this construction of three floors, semi-basement, terrace and outdoor areas that provide various services. The semi-basement has three auditoriums, a silence enclosure and 56 parking lots. The first two floors are intended for interactive classrooms that use the highest computer technology. On the third floor are the computer rooms and other classrooms.
The building was designed with large collaborative work spaces in which students enjoy areas that promote new learning concepts. Its walkable terrace communicates with the postgraduate and research administrative offices and includes a modern boardroom.
The prize
This year, the Luis Guillermo Aycardi Postgraduate Building was submitted to the Excellence in Construction in Colombia 2022 competition, in the Buildings/Structures category, organized by the ACI.
After a few weeks of deliberations, the vice president of the Colombian Branch of the ICA, Fabián Lamus Báez, let the university know the unanimous decision: his building was in first place and, in addition to this recognition, he is postulated before the International ICA to participate with other projects on a global scale.
The criteria taken into account by the juries to evaluate the participating constructions were: architectural merit; engineering merit; creativity, innovative construction techniques or solutions; innovative use of materials (special features of concrete); ingenuity, sustainability and resilience (ecological and environmental); functionality and suitability for end use, and degree of difficulty (project challenges and problem solving).
In supporting the degree of difficulty of the construction, the directors of the School assured: "It was necessary to innovate in the redesign of very careful sequential processes and adapt construction techniques, given that the work was carried out during the Covid-19 pandemic, coordinating small groups of operators in synchronized shifts". Likewise, they stressed that the building is "the hinge that articulates the heart of the campus: its curved geometry orients the visual and circulation axes."
In the month of August, during a massive virtual event, the university will have the opportunity to present its project to the public, focusing on details of the constructive part that will surely attract the attention of the spectators.
