LOCATED ON THE NORTH - EASTERN EDGE OF BOGOTA, COLOMBIA, BOSQUE DE MARIA IS AN ABANDONED, PRIVATELY OWNED QUARRY SITE – A POTENTIAL GATEWAY TO THE CITY'S EASTERN MOUNTAIN RANGE, THE CERROS ORIENTALES, AS WELL AS GROUND FOR DEVELOPMENT. THE QUARRY HAS CREATED AN URBAN VOID THAT COULD SERVE THE LOCAL COMMUNITIES BY FULFILLING THE NEED FOR HOUSING AND INFRASTRUCTURE, WHILE ALSO ADDRESSING THE ECOLOGICAL FRAGILITY THAT HAS RESULTED FROM THE SITE'S PHYSICAL EXPLOITATION.

 

A HOUSING PLAN WAS DEVELOPED THAT WOULD RESPOND TO BOTH OF THESE IMPERATIVES BY DEMARCATING ZONES OF CONSTRUCTION & ZONE OF ECOLOGICAL REHABILITATION. LOW-DENSITY, LOW-RISE, INCREMENTAL HOUSING UNITS WERE DESIGNATED ALONG THE PERIPHERY, WHILE HIGH-RISE, HIGH-DENSITY DEVELOPMENT ACTS AS ROCK-CATCHMENT INFRASTRUCTURE ACROSS THE SITE'S MOST EXPLOITED QUARRY WALLS. AN INTERMEDIARY ZONE OF BOTH TYPOLOGIES, CREATED AT THE HEART OF THE SITE, ADDRESSES MAJOR ECOLOGICAL INCENTIVES OF THE SITE, DEPICTING THE POTENTIAL FOR INTEGRATED HOUSING, SOIL, REGENERATION, AND LANDSCAPING INITIATIVES. 

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THIS PROJECT WAS DEVELOPED  WITH AURELIE FROLET (CORNELL M.ARCH) + CAROLINE NIEDERPRUEM (CORNELL M.ARCH).