A multipurpose outdoor venue made out of scaffolding

Colab-19 has built a multi-storey open-air venue out of scaffolding, to help soften the socio-economic damage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in Bogotá

Spotted: In an effort to help businesses in Bogotá that have been damaged by the pandemic, architecture collective Colab-19 has built a multi-storey outdoor venue using scaffolding. Colab-19 describes itself as a laboratory for architecture and was founded to mobilise designers to respond to the problems caused by COVID-19. Called La Concordia: Amphitheatre, the U-shaped structure is able to host a variety of activities, from outdoor dining to film screening, as well as socially distanced theatre. It is arranged over three levels that face Galaría Santa Fe in the La Concordia district, with a semi-enclosed courtyard space in the middle. Individual platforms on the lower levels can be used for dining at a safe distance, while the top level can be used as a viewpoint.

With design in the context of a socio-economic crisis a little more tricky, Colab-19 co-founders, German Bahamon and Alejandro Saldarriaga, had to consider non-traditional building materials. They needed materials that were easily accessible and they eventually centred on scaffolding, due to its modularity, accessibility, and “outdoor feel.” To divide up the dining booths, sheets of yute are suspended from the scaffolding. Yute is a textile made from natural fibres, which are traditionally used to make sacks for coffee and potatoes in Colombia. All of the material chosen for La Concordia: Amphitheatre can be taken apart and used for other projects after serving its purpose.

Colab-19 hopes to keep the venue in place long after the pandemic is over. In a process they have termed “tactical architecture,” Bahamon and Saldarriaga have a goal of developing interventions that will permanently change public opinion. They aim to give cities the opportunity to prepare for the booming of public space and adapt to the new reality.  

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