Goethe-Institut 2022

Project Details

« " of 9 " »

DESCRIPTION

It was 2021 when the Goethe-Institut, led by Wenzel Laus, invited us to design a project that would reorient its Calle 93 headquarters location in Bogotá towards more diverse uses, aligned with a cultural agenda in exponential growth and a vision of the future beyond the teaching of the German language.

As a team, we built a premise in the code of everyday actions: approaching, seeing, entering, feeling, getting to know, discovering. Guten Morgen. Experiencing diversity, light, color, form, textures, and intensities. Guten Tag. Discovering a story, a country, a language, and customs. Gute Nacht. Becoming familiar, forging bonds, and bridging distances.

These actions turned into questions: How can diverse forms of cultural exchange be brought together in a single place? How can simultaneity be activated amidst difference? How can the intensity of those days of encounter be revived? How can everyday spaces for cooperation be established?

And finally, the strategies emerged: a lobby on an city scale. At times, with horizontal proportions, it spans the entire width of the hall, accommodating an opening, a group exhibition, or a socially distanced gathering. At other times, it offers a specific format ideal for passersby to enjoy from the shop window. It also serves as a waiting area that can be subdivided. Faced with so many possibilities, the result is maximum flexibility.

Inside, we removed partitions to allow for greater circulation of light and air, and established a new way of moving through the space, one that also involves rediscovering it. The corridors are defined by communication, color, airflow, and the maximum possible amount of natural light.

In the central hall, there are classes in the morning, lectures in the afternoon, and screenings at night. It is the institute's physical heart and a filter for the energy of the street. This open, translucent, and flexible central space now serves as a hub for screenings, lectures, and debate.

DETAILS

Use

Offices

Type

Rehabilitation

Area

123,5 m²

Location

Bogotá D. C. – Colombia

Meters above the sea level

2625

Average annual temperature

13.1 °C

Year

2022

Client

Goethe Institute

Architectural design and structural and construction

Yemail Architecture

Project team

Antonio Yemail + Daniel Molina + Martín Jiménez

Categories: Culture