2024 - Danza de Cattleya

“THE DANCE OF CATTLEYA”
PROBLEM STATEMENT
The town of Usme, south of Bogotá, faces a multifaceted problem that affects the use of natural light in its buildings. The lack of natural lighting in homes and architectural structures, added to the rigidity in their design, creates dark and unwelcoming interior spaces, generating a negative impact on the well-being of the community. This situation is aggravated by the shortage of educational spaces and recreational areas, limiting opportunities for development and growth. Furthermore, the need to promote sustainable agriculture in a locality with significant agricultural potential requires initiatives and resources that are currently absent. Together, these challenges represent an obstacle to the comprehensive development of Usme and underline the urgency of finding innovative solutions that address these problems comprehensively. How can we design architectural spaces that maximize the entry of natural light, promoting the well-being of its users and encouraging community development, in a context where the lack of natural lighting, rigidity in architecture and the need to promote sustainable educational spaces represent significant challenges?

JUSTIFICATION:
In the town of Usme, Bogotá, we face a common problem in many urban communities: the lack of natural lighting and the rigidity of existing architectural structures. Homes and community spaces are usually closed and unwelcoming, which limits the well-being and quality of life of their users. The location of this project gives it agricultural potential and the need to explore and innovate how nature can be used in favor of architecture. With a combination of homes designed to make the most of sunlight and an agricultural educational complex, with a tripicarium dedicated to growing plants and outdoor classrooms to take advantage of light, promoting sustainable agriculture and community development in the region. This project arises as a response to this problem, inspired by the natural phenomenon of heliotropism, observed in the Cattleya orchid. Like this flower, which follows the path of the sun to maximize its exposure to light, our project seeks to design homes and community spaces that follow the same principle, allowing greater entry of natural light and creating warmer and more welcoming environments.

GENERAL OBJECTIVE:
Design a residential and educational complex that promotes the maximization of natural lighting, the well-being of its inhabitants and community development, integrating the concept of heliotropism inspired by the Cattleya orchid and promoting sustainable agriculture and agricultural education.

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES:

• Integrate the principle of heliotropism in the architectural design of homes, community structures and educational spaces, to maximize their permeability towards natural light.
• Establish an educational complex as a center for agricultural research and production, which promotes sustainable agriculture, the cultivation of native plants and education on innovative and environmentally friendly agricultural practices.
• Develop innovative architectural strategies in order to maximize the entry of natural light and improve the thermal and environmental comfort of residents.

CONCEPT
Heliotropism is a biological phenomenon in which certain plants have the ability to orient their structures, such as leaves, flowers or stems, in response to the position of the sun. In other words, these plants can follow the apparent movement of the sun throughout the day, orienting their parts toward it to maximize exposure to sunlight. This behavior allows them to optimize photosynthesis, the process by which they convert solar energy into chemical energy to fuel their growth and development. Heliotropism can manifest itself in different ways depending on the plant species and environmental conditions, and is a fascinating example of how living organisms adapt and respond to their environment.