Simon Velez. Colombian architect. He has displayed such a unique style and technique that it has earned him the name “sui generis”, due to his special way of using bamboo in his creations.
Summary
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- 1 Biographical summary
- 1Trayectoria
- 2 Recognitions
- 3 Fountains
biographical synthesis
He was born in Manizales , Colombia in 1949 . He is a graduate of the Universidad de Los Andes , Bogotá .
Trajectory
Son and grandson of architects. He has mainly worked on rural architecture although some of his projects are urban. About 35 years ago he discovered the construction technique that allows him to work bamboo like a true vegetable steel . This technique is very simple and consists of injecting cement mortar into the empty bamboo pipes in the places where the structural joints occur. His basic theory is that architecture should be a bit more vegetarian.
He has designed and built more than 200 buildings (not only in bamboo) in Germany , France , the United States , Brazil , Mexico , China , Jamaica , Colombia , Panama , Ecuador , and India .
His most outstanding projects are: the bamboo pabillion at Expo Hannover ( 2000 ), the Nomadic Museum in the Zócalo of Mexico City ( 2008 ), the Crosswaters Ecolodge in the forests of the Nankun Shan Mountain Reserve ( Guanzhou , Chinese 2003 ).
He does not consider himself an architect of bamboo. He also works with bamboo and many other building materials except plastics , asbestos , cement , and anything known as ‘drywall.’
In 2016 , I participate in the Venice Architecture Biennale .
Acknowledgments
In 2009 he won the Principal Prince Claus Award where he is honored for the aesthetic use of natural materials in all his creations.
