Learning from Medellin

Medellin, the second-largest city in Colombia, was synonymous for years with drug cartels and a sky-high murder rate. (This certainly didn't help that reputation.) But recently the city has seen a remarkable renaissance, thanks in part to a serious investment in civic architecture spearheaded by former mayor Sergio Fajardo.

The rebirth has been so dramatic -- and the buildings that helped spur it so compelling -- that Medellin has become a pilgrimage spot for architects, writers, curators and planners eager to see how forward-thinking urban design has helped turn the city's fortunes around.

After spending nearly a week in the city, I've joined the ranks of the Medellin evangelists, ready to sing the praises of its new landmarks. But I've also got some caveats about the extent of the revival -- along with some thoughts about Medellin's larger significance for contemporary architecture, which is facing something of an identity crisis these days.

You can read my dispatch from Medellin here. A photo gallery is here.

An update on the political career of Sergio Fajardo is here.

-- Christopher Hawthorne

Photo: Plan B Architects' canopy in the orchid garden at the Medellin Botanical Gardens. Credit: Sergio Gomez.

Comments

[Donald Frazell]

Nice, i like it, but would be even better if you provided some more photos of other works. The problem with starchitects is they think they are artists first, and their works sculpture, not building for people to live and work in. The environmentalists want to show their commitment and idealism, there is always a third way, a better and truer onethan human ego.Works that incorporate humanity, nature and god(purpose) as one, this looks good above, and actually provides color in thewood latices against the sky, especially in this shot with artificial light. How does it look during the daytime?

Buildings should become humanly scaled again, instead of mausoleums to their creators,patron and architect. Well lit, and bring in some color damn it, and room to improvise and liven up with artists work, Most are impossible to add to, ego on a huge scale, all about the builders. Buildings must function first of all, but be comfortable, adaptable, travel well. and not be as sterile as they ahve been, or strictly plants for nature as the environmentalist's are doing, though they may be better. More idealists than egotists.

See you at Norm Maxwells CK, you can dine across the street at Canters, though it is rather boring food. Fairfax is becoming an non academic arts center. The only kind ther eis. the third and true way, neither academic nor pseudo street.

Have a nice day.

[Donald Frazell]

OK, looked at the photo gallery. Architects really do have no feel for color, do they? Thats alright, few contempt artists do either. Think in chords of color, like in music. No color does anything by itself, especially large coal black buildings that look like funny speakers, dull green strips, or bright red for no reason. What's going on? What is their purpose? Do they help the neighborhood and bring out the color and life in it? NO. just dogma. And dull.

Still sterile stuff, too bad. Back to the drawing board, or how about painting some buildings, leave some room to color things up later, instead of using materials that cant be changed. Now thats arrogance, and still not changing. Just like LACMAs future plans, where the existing buildings CAN be colored quite easily, and made alive.

remember you architects, the Parthenon was what?Painted!
god help us.

art e archectura collegia delenda est