The Cámara de Comercio de Bogotá (CCB) (Bogota Chamber of Commerce) is sponsoring an international architectural design competition for a new Bogotá International Convention Center (CICB). Co-sponsors include the City of Bogota, the Government of Colombia, and CORFERIAS. Gensler, a global architecture, design and planning practice, is acting as competition advisor.
Continuing a legacy of outstanding public architecture developed through the design competition process, the CCB seeks to commission a talented design team to develop an outstanding concept for a new international convention center in Bogotá. The new venue is a key resource for the city to increase its level of competitiveness at the local, regional, and international levels.
The facility must have a distinct visual presence and support a wide range of international, cultural, entertainment, educational, commercial and community programs. The building should showcase design innovation and sustainability and should support regeneration of the surrounding neighbourhood.
The International Convention Center will symbolize the beginning of a great urban transformation that, according to studies carried out by Universidad Nacional, will attract more than 1,000,000 tourists to Bogota in five years. Furthermore, in the same period of time, it will make an impact of 8.4% in the city’s GDP. In addition, it will generate 4,000 new jobs in 10 years and will allow collecting more than $347 billion in annual taxes, given the dynamic it will produce in the city’s economy.
The importance of the competition was reflected in the 226 firms that registered for and inquired about the competition. In total, 91 proposals were submitted from 119 firms, either individually or in association with others. The proposals came from the five continents and 21 countries, 77% of which were foreign firms. Among the proposals received, four came from architects who have been honoured with the Pritzker Prize. Similarly, most registered firms have been recipients of major international awards and recognitions in architecture and design. After a rigorous and careful selection process by the competition’s evaluation committee, the following firms were chosen to continue on to Stage II of the competition.
The shortlisted firms are:
* Bermúdez y Herreros Consortium of Bogotá, Colombia and Madrid, Spain
* Diller Scofidio + Renfro + UdeB Architecture of New York, USA, and Bogotá, Colombia
* Saucier + Perrotte Architectes of Montreal, Canada.
* Snohetta + RIR of New York, USA and Bogotá, Colombia
* Zaha Hadid Architects + JMPF of London, England and Medellín, Colombia
For more information, please visit www.ccb.co/conventioncenter