Completed
Awarded
Eternally in Process
Research
Past Lives
Crosswalks for Lifetactical urbanism
2013
Medellín, Colombia
Combo 2600 (alliance)
Luisa Brando (creative director)
State
Awarded: Winners of the Walking Missionary Awards
Cebras Por la Vida is a call for attention for the government, but mostly for the citizens. Moving from criticism into active participation, this civic initiative began as a critical proposal on Bogotá´s unbearable condition of public space. If a city wants to promote walking, the space must incite that. A good city for pedestrians is a good city for everyone, it is inclusive and promotes social encounters, active participation and education. The walker should be the priority and the physical space of the city must evidence this with their public policies; urban development, transport, management and maintenance of the infrastructure of the city should reflect this.
Art is used as a tool for education, for awareness and for change. Through creative interventions in spaces absent of street walks, the project proposes Tactical Urbanism as a way of learning and teaching by the collective design of the crosswalks, with the intention of creating awareness of the relevance of protecting and providing dignifying space for the pedestrian. This is a proposal for a joint construction of city space through the articulation of institutional and civic initiatives. Cebras por la Vida has collaborated with Veeduría Distrital and with District Secretariat of Education, Government and Mobility in Bogota and Medellin.
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Although the structural modifications were minimal, the ambiance of the spaces was completely transformed by particular design elements. An example of this is the reading niche. A space that envelops, that allows to be in silence. Taking advantage of the fact that there was an excess of closets in the main room, 4 doors were removed and a custom-made piece of furniture was designed to create a space of silence and permanence. It opens another possibility to inhabit the room.
In the kitchen environment, we rescued one of the strong characteristics of the Spaniards; their culinary tradition, but not in the sense of the dish itself, but in the act of gathering with friends and family around the food. For this reason, an aperitif table was designed to be the heart of the house. Emulating a tapas bar, just outside the kitchen, the space was designed to wrap around a long, tall bar composed of brightly colored tiles.
In the kitchen environment, we rescued one of the strong characteristics of the Spaniards; their culinary tradition, but not in the sense of the dish itself, but in the act of gathering with friends and family around the food. For this reason, an aperitif table was designed to be the heart of the house. Emulating a tapas bar, just outside the kitchen, the space was designed to wrap around a long, tall bar composed of brightly colored tiles.
We wanted to create an encounter with beauty in every corner of the house, giving importance to the small details. These are the ones that tell the story of the house: a yellow dictionary of the Spanish language, ceramics that captivate with their simple shapes, and a family of cactus that crown the central corridor of the house.
We also wanted to create this experience through light, which plays a fundamental role in the space. Not only as lighting but also as design objects. In the dining room, it is the lamp that focuses the eye, as a red line that goes up between a mint green wall, then across the ceiling and then down over the table. At the snack bar, there are two circles that dialogue with the door frames and are distributed along the tiles. And the rooms as points of color that play with the beds.
We also wanted to create this experience through light, which plays a fundamental role in the space. Not only as lighting but also as design objects. In the dining room, it is the lamp that focuses the eye, as a red line that goes up between a mint green wall, then across the ceiling and then down over the table. At the snack bar, there are two circles that dialogue with the door frames and are distributed along the tiles. And the rooms as points of color that play with the beds.