Urban Transformation of the 5th Street in the Center of Cali, Colombia

Historically, 5th Street, in the city of Cali – Colombia, has established itself as one of the most important civic and cultural axes, connecting the city from south to north. However, as a result of its expansion in 1970 due to the Panamerican games, the spatial continuity of the city center with the San Antonio, San Cayetano and San Bosco neighborhoods was fragmented, generating social, environmental and cultural segregation in this area due to the prioritization of vehicular over pedestrian mobility.

The current dynamics of the city demand almost as a historical debt, and there is a need to reconnect and recover the historic center. It is for all this that this plan called “Heritage Fabric” seeks to recompose the urban fabric of this area through a new public space system with a diversity of programs and spatialities that prioritizes both pedestrian mobility and the enhancement of heritage landmarks from cultural, historical and natural type through the activation of these public spaces, highlighting and complementing them with contemporary interventions respectful with their surroundings, that activate urban life and build the Cali heritage for the future.

The 5th Street Project is divided into three stages, recognizing the dynamics and diverse urban forms that occur in the 2,2km length that makes up the project. The first stage, called The Boulevard of the Origin, includes burying the street to create an upper park that highlights the history of this piece of the city. The second stage, called The Boardwalk of the Ceibas, seeks to consolidate itself as an axis of environmental vocation that enhances biodiversity among the natural structuring elements of the area; and stage three, called The Walk of Culture, seeks through the rearrangement of the road profile, to highlight milestones of historical and cultural importance, encouraging citizen pedestrian appropriation.

With all of the above, we will value the city’s heritage, which is not limited to monuments and object collections. This also includes inherited and current living expressions such as oral traditions, performing arts, social gatherings, rituals, festive events, knowledge and practices related to nature and the universe, and knowledge and techniques linked to traditional crafts.

As a complement to the public space system, 24 specific strategies are proposed, grouped into six thematic axes that address topics such as space programming, social management, mobility, environmental and economic management, and occupation models, seeking that the project becomes a living methodological tool that generates a replicable, scalable and sustainable system guiding the development of new public and opportunity lots located in this area of the city. These strategies are equipped with the necessary tools to mutate, create variations and adapt over time according to the political, economic, physical and emotional needs of all the actors involved in the project, promoting cooperation between the municipality, technical knowledge and citizens as a fundamental exercise.

Urban Transformation of 5th Street in the Center of Cali, Colombia

Location: Cali, Colombia

Designer Credit: Entropía Arquitectura Adaptativa + Land + Nueve Arquitectura

Team:
Alejandro Vargas and David Mesa.Juan David Hoyos.Daniel Piedrahita, Julián Villescas, Juan Camilo Muñoz, Maria Angélica Echeverry, Valeria Torres and Alejandro Guevara.

Collaborators:
Felipe Betancur, Cristian Pinta, Alejandro Vasco, Santiago Restrepo, Manuela Álvarez, Juan Pablo Maradey and David Quintero.