Two Colombians in the top of the best architecture in the world

For the first time in history, two Colombian architecture projects win in the most prestigious awards in this branch of design in the world, the “Rethinking the Future Awards -RTF”.

From a total of 1,200 projects registered for the year 2020, 45 were selected, which “represent the future of global architecture and are inspiration for architects, builders and interior designers from all over the world”, according to the main objective of the RTF Awards which, every year, receives architectural design proposals from more than 40 countries.

Giancarlo Mazzanti and Ricardo de Castro were the two architects from Barranquilla who were awarded the famous award. “These awards are a great reference and inspiration in the world. In addition to being an important recognition for our firm, we are proud that Colombia is in the world gallery of architecture, with avant-garde works, ”said Ricardo de Castro.

De Castro, with his eponymous architectural firm, won two awards: one of them for the ‘Marquise’ project, which he won in the Conceptual Public Building category. This is not the first award that this specific project has won, it is joined by two more: an award granted in Colombia for its creation, and a Design Award in Italy, in the architecture and engineering category.

The project, according to Ricardo, “is inspired by the Caribbean culture (…) It is a modern obelisk that serves as a large water filter to treat the sewage of the area, mitigating the environmental impact on the Ciénaga de Mallorquín ”.

The obelisk would be 145 meters high and would hide two concrete tanks to collect rainwater that would reduce contamination and the collapse of Barranquilla’s local drainage lines.

The second winning project was Casa Mica, which won the award in the Large Residential category. The project, which will be built in the Club Lagos del Caujaral, on the outskirts of Barranquilla, was defined by its creator as a building that “emerges as a refreshing and innovative proposal, designed taking advantage of the climatic conditions of the area. Its study of lights, winds and management of solar panels make it a unique and efficient house, capable of generating 100% of the energy it requires and recovering the water used in the house ”.

For its part, Giancarlo Mazzanti’s signature, ‘The Mazzanti team’, was awarded for the expansion project of the Hospital Fundación Santa Fe de Bogotá, completed two years ago. The building now has 12 floors that, from the ninth, have a large garden and special spaces that, according to the architect, were designed for the benefit of people, as they “help heal.”

“We start from the premise that space itself can be a therapeutic mechanism that helps to heal. Therein lies the value of this. We wonder how spaces can help people change their perspective of how they inhabit a space ”, explained the Barranquillero.

Giancarlo Mazzanti has received more than 20 national and international recognitions with his signature. In 2011, the Barranquillero became the first Colombian architect to put one of his works in the Museum of Modern Art in New York (MoMa) and in the Pompidou in Paris.

The architect obtained, in 2006, the first prize in the category of Urban and Landscape Design at the 10th Venice Architecture Biennale and, two years later, he was awarded the award for the best work of Architecture and Urbanism at the VI Biennial Iberoamericana de Arquitectura y Urbanismo.