Nencatacoa Student Residence

Our context and inspirations

In Colombia, the biggest and most important higher education institutions are located in the 5 largest cities in the country. This creates an obligation for students from other parts of the country to move to the big cities where it is likely for them to have no relatives and, therefore, no place to stay. Finding a place to live in a city like Bogotá can be challenging because student housing is limited and paying rent can be unaffordable for most of the population. Many students that come from the countryside and smaller cities live in places far away from their campus, limiting social interactions and increasing their commute time.

The best universities in Bogotá are located in the city center. Some important student housing projects have been developed through collective efforts by these universities. As de city center is an area with a high-density population, it is very active throughout different parts of the day. The land is not as expensive because it is a middle-class area. It is important to point out the city’s rejection of tall buildings in the city center, although this is slowly changing. Other universities, as Universidad de La Sabana, are located in the outskirts of the city and have the privilege of being surrounded by nature. However, Bogotá’s poor public transport system forces the students to drive or take a train that only operates 4 times per day. For this reason, the students of these styles of universities spend a lot of time on campus. Still, the students from other parts of the country find it hard to go to this university as it is very expensive to commute.

The concept

Our proposal focuses on creating a module for student housing that addresses the national need for more affordable higher education. The name for the project comes from the Muisca deity of building. This tribe lived in the area we live in today and they believed that this deity helped them build their homes. Considering the location of existing universities, it must be adaptable to a rural and city center context. It is also fundamental for it to work as a space for gathering and meeting people due to Latin American’s generally being very extroverted people, especially being young. Therefore, our concept is a living and meeting center for Latin American students.

Exploring form

We attempted over 5 different conceptual forms in the beginning. These were a product of investigating different student housing projects and other typologies of architecture made with containers. We could see how the main element was placed and used to mold the space. One of the most important examples we explored were some restaurant blocks that are common in the northern part of the city of Bogotá.

Defining main elements

Understanding that the project had to mainly be destined towards housing, this was the main element of the programme. However, we also added communal spaces and small businesses to activate the social aspect of the project and incentive people to stay and use the project as a point for gathering. These parts of the programme also started to appear when we began the process of giving form to the concept.

The materials were chosen based on their weight, aesthetic appeal, durability, and adaptability to different temperatures and climates found in our country. The need for the project to be easily moved required light materials and the constant use required durability. They also had to be appealing to provide comfort for residents and visitors. Bogota is strongly characterized by its brick constructions, therefore, we consider brick red an appropriate color to relate buildings of this material worldwide to our project. Colombia is a tropical country and the climate changes very fast when you travel. Bogotá is cold and mildly humid but cities like Barranquilla or Cartagena are humid and hot.

Into the future

The expansion plan was considered when giving shape to the project. It was fundamental to think of the form as a piece to a modular project that could work on its own. We think that in open spaces with no current buildings, such as the outskirts of the city, it is possible to multiply and link the modules to form a grid. Our closest reference project in this sense was the Urban Rigger by BIG. However, the project had to work on its own because in the city center it is not possible to take up space for a grid. The project can not only change throughout time on a horizontal plane, we think that containers allow additive techniques that grow the project vertically. The project already consists of stacking to make better use of space and its form is repetitive vertically. So as long as the structure resists, the project can be stacked, adapting to the changing environment in the center of the city.