CREATE FROM BEING
PERSONAL STATEMENT
The passion for creating and recreating spaces seems to be implicit in me. Since I was a child, I had interest in replicating scenarios that I saw on TV, the houses and places that I frequented; I made those constructions in 2 ways: one was with American Bricks and the other one with furniture to scale that I had for my dolls, creating virtual spaces where I imagined how the environments were formed and where they circulated among them.
When I started my architecture studies, the Dean of the Faculty was the master Dicken Castro (1922-2016), who was one of the greatest architects in Colombia and precursor of graphic design in the country.
I had the great opportunity to know him, appreciate his criteria and being guided with his advices to continue with the auto-discovery through the art of design.
For then, the teachings of the faculty were artistic and humanist, where architecture was involved with the Visual Arts in the history of art and architecture; since knowledge is the great basis for the emergence of new proposals of quality, these influences and teachings became the principles of my development as a professional.
I love discovering spaces and feel what they irradiate, I like being in places full of sensory richness and vibrate in them, feel the light bathing the space, see the colors and shades, listen the sounds of the place, see the people who move around them; those are some of the ingredients that define the character of each place, and to enjoy these experiences, I take pictures of things that catch my attention and capture specific moments that could not be set if I just carried a sketchbook.
I enjoy knowing historical places with a clear concept of design. It's exciting to think about the events that have occurred in certain sites and knowing that at that specific moment I am part of those; that makes me feel special and grateful for being right there. What makes these places something special is that they are constructions that had the aim to transmit the spirit of the architect, marked by an artistic or humanistic current, leaving a free position in expression and opposite to the conventions at a certain moment. These are the spaces or places that manage to transcend in time and being recognized by its design and engineering.
Working for Rodrigo Samper & Cia., gave me the opportunity to manage the design and adaptation project in the antique Jockey Club building in Bogotá, Colombia (National Monument, declared in the year of 1984); to move to these facilities the Faculty of Jurisprudence of the University of Rosario. During the development of this project, I discovered a great interest and fascination for recovering the architectural heritage, simultaneously intervening into it to adapt their existing spaces to new uses that would have. It was a great challenge to execute this project successfully, given the complexity of the intervention that took place, since the building was in a deteriorated condition and the construction had to be modernized to adapt it to the needs of the customer, respecting the existing architecture and simultaneously recovering all its beauty and splendor through careful selection of designs, materials, textures, colors, lighting, and furniture.
On the other hand, the projects and travels that I have done have helped me to identify the attraction and the taste that I have towards the distinguishing, the unique; especially in regards to architecture and the cause of this interest is what stimulates my curiosity allowing me to experience different designs.
Project: Faculty of Jurisprudence Universidad del Rosario /// Design & Construction: Rodrigo Samper & Cía.
Design Direction & Project Management /// Area: 2.500 M2 /// Year: 2015
For all these reasons, among many others, what I pursue with my work is to achieve that anyone anywhere with any socio-cultural conditions, can experience the magic of the spaces and assets that are close and unknown to them; where architecture does not limit contemplation, but on the contrary, it will invite all to explore with the senses achieving an effect of life and dynamism, where the result will be to appreciate the place and appropriating it allowing all to experience different situations.
Because diversity opens up new possibilities and enriches the man.
Author: Alexandra Rozo Ramírez
Text for Fulbright - MinCulture for Artists 2017
Journal Edition ar.ai 2022