Architect's House, Casa La Candelaria

摘要

This project started as a gift from my father when I was a student of architecture. It was a humble Colonial-era construction typical of Bogota's historic center, sitting on a rectangular lot with an 8 m street frontage and a 50 m depth. The front of the lot is along one of the main streets where the social and financial elite lived for 72 years until an assassination of a significant political figure resulted in social unrest. The event destroyed many constructions and motivated this class of people to abandon the sector and look for security and modern comfort elsewhere. When I bought my first house, it was occupied by 20 very poor families that paid a very modest rent. I demolished everything except the facade on Calle 10. In the middle of the space, I constructed a mini house on top of a small pond, "La Casita , where I lived for many years. I wanted a lot of gardens around. After 8 different purchases, I managed to combine various properties into one large 2,000 m~2 lot. I have been constructing little by little,、， not just my house that I live in with my wife and design partner Stefana Simic, but also the houses for my children and grandchildren. This has taken me over 50 years. Present here are all the phases of my life and evolution as an architect. Even though I continue to construct and develop this place, the most important aspect of it will always be the garden.