This Afternoon I visited Biblioteca León de Greiff, another project of Giancarlo Manzzanti. Situated within the East side barrio of La Landera and built on the site of the former La Landera Men’s Jail, the Biblioteca is named after one of the Medellín literary greats in the Modernist Movement of the early 20th century, León de Greiff (poet).
Less pronounced than and following a similar design layout as Biblioteca España, León de Greiff is broken up into three bloques, on for children, one for adults and an Auditorium. Within each bloque are secondary spaces for computers and workshop rooms. and on top of all three are outdoor theaters which stitch back into the neighboring community park and play courts further up the hillside.
A lot of space has been reserved around the library for recreational purposes which aids Mazzanti’s design reflecting back towards downtown and the barrios that rest lower than the Biblioteca with little to no obstructions. It also help set the library apart from the different grids of the barrios surrounding the side while also allowing for temporary events to take place within the green space. For instance on my way up to the site there was a circus tent setup.
Today has been a day I’ve been waiting for ever since March 18, 2008; A day when I learned about this amazing city from one charismatic Mathematician turned Politician, Sergio Fajardo.
A lot of people have wondered, how I knew of/learned about Medellín, why I purposely chose one place to visit for this travel scholarship and why I decided to come to a place more known for it’s violent past that it’s bright future. The simple answer is because of Sergio.
During the Spring of 2008 I studied abroad in Florence, Italy through SU Abroad (Syracuse University’s Study Abroad program). It was here while attending the Semester’s main Symposium that I was formally introduced to Medellín.
Before I go on, I think it’s important to explain just how I decided to forego the IIT College of Architecture’s excellent Paris study abroad program for Syracuse’s. I first became aware of SU Abroad after visiting the university for a portfolio review back in 2003. Getting a chance to learn about the caliber and diversity of their Study Abroad program during my visit left a lasting impression on me. Long story short, after turning down Syracuse for Illinois Tech, I always knew I wanted part of my undergraduate experience to be with Syracuse and felt Study Abroad would be the best way.
Fast forward to Florence and the Symposium that eventually brought me to Medellín: The Political Dimension of Architecture. The Symposium had 3 main presenters followed by a round table discussion. Sergio was first up and gave an unforgettable presentation on the multi-leveled changes happening in Medellín.
It is from this sole presentation that I based my proposal for the Martin Roche Travel Scholarship.
From my scholarship essay
…At the end of his lecture at the symposium [Sergio] extended an invitation to the audience to come to Medellín and witness all the good that has come out of [the city's] work.
My intention in applying for this scholarship is to take him up on his offer.
Although this was the first interview I tried to schedule upon being selected for Martin Roche, it’s been a difficult one to arrange, Sergio is an extremely busy man. Because of term limits Sergio served only one term as Mayor which concluded in 2008. Since then he’s been in the process of running for President of Colombia. He’s now living in Bogotá and is currently jet setting from one place to another meeting with the people of Colombia and colleagues in other countries. Sergio is so busy that I was squeezed into meeting him as he came back from Mexico, stopping in Medellín, en route to Bogotá, only in time to accept recognition of being selected, along with Alejandro Echeverri, as a recipient of the 2009 Curry Stone Design Prize. And if all that wasn’t enough, I also shared my interview time with another intregued academic, Marina Pérez de Arcos, a University of York student in town working on her thesis.
Prior to his video conference with Louisville, we had a chance to sit down Sergio at Parque Explora’s Studio Sala. Here are a few excerpts from our combined interview.
Sergio on returning to Medellín and getting involved in Politics
This afternoon I returned to the barrio San Javier to visit Biblioteca Sacerdote José Luis Arroyave Restrepo and Institución Educativa la Independencia. San Javier is a unique barrio and comuna within the rolling hills of the western most edge of the city. Estacion San Javier sits at the end of the línea B on the Medellin Metro and Biblioteca Sacerdote José Luis Arroyave Restrepo sits only a short walk away thanks to a nifty pedestrian bridge that fills the chasm between where the two structures rest.
Puente a la Biblioteca
Biblioteca José Luis was opened for the first time on New Years eve 2006. Adding what is the second largest Biblioteca by size (16.9 mill) into an area of the city far removed from an accessible library. The building itself lays on the slope of the hillside within its design, shifting heights per linear vagones (train wagons) . This shifting also helps the library establish an order of division of services from community workshop/study rooms, to children and adult collections.
After spending a good portion of the afternoon in the Biblioteca, I took a short taxi ride through the rolling hills of the comuna to Institución Educativa la Independencia. Designed by Felipe Uribe de Bedout and built in only eight months (2007), Institución Educativa La Independencia gets it’s name form the barrio it’s situated within, La Independencia; the school itself services children from the surronding barrios of El Salado, Eduardo Santos, Antonio Nariño, Nuevos Conquistadores and 20 de Julio. At close to 22 million square feet, the Colegio is the biggest educational facility built in the recent years.
Axon + programmatic diagram
As with almost all of my daily excursions I had time to take in interviewing some of the barrio’s residents just outside of la Independencia within the open public space. This evening I had a chance to interview Laula, Dores and Berta.
Dores (Left); Laula (Center); Berta (Right)
It was interesting to hear the differing of opinions regarding the city and the barrio from this trio outside of the Colegio. For the substantive changes I’ve been privy to observe throughout my stay aren’t being felt for as much impact in the lives of these residents.
Below, a few pictures from the day…
Art Books
Grate
Cafetería
Playing field
Biblioteca Sacerdote José Luis Arroyave Restrepo
Entrance
Gimnasio
Grand Corridor
Skylights
Colegio from the west
Walkway from lower level
Axon + programmatic diagram
Main circulation corridor
North windows
Metro walkway
Skylight
Búsqueda
Lower Level
View from lower level of ventilation grates to the above the main level secondary circulation path
Today I went out to finish up touring the sequence of public spaces along San Juan (Calle 44) I started a few weeks ago, along the journey through the buildings and squares that straddle Avenida San Juan, I revisited Plaza Cisneros and Biblioteca epm.
Biblioteca epm is another Empresas Públicas de Medellín project. Completed in 2005, Biblioteca epm is the city’s downtown library located across the Avenida from the La Alpujarra government center. An interesting note is that although located downtown, the library doesn’t function as the main library but more as a learning library with a lot of space dedicated towards lectures/meetings, teaching and technology.
After being in Medellín now for 3 weeks and thus being able to see more than one example of an Architect’s work, I’ve quickly become a fan of Felipe Uribe’s style. The way he crafts space and views is really interesting as one perspective/view draws you to another with the simple play of heights and volumes. I’ve been continually drawn towards his places and spaces as they have a magnetic effect on a person to explore and understand them.
The other day I had the opportunity to interview him (a non blogged interview) where he explained a little bit about his design intentions Biblioteca epm and Plaza Cisneros.
