Colombia - The architectural legacy of Rogelio Salmona: an ethical, political, social and poetic manifesto

1 Residencias El Parque, 1965-1970 / 4°36'48.099"N 74°4'2.103"W. 2 Casa de Huéspedes de Colombia / 10° 23' 36.925"N 75° 32' 10.694"W. 3 Archivo General de la Nación, 1988-1994 / 4°35'38.7" N 74°04'35.8"W . 4 Casa Gabriel García Márquez, 1991-1996 / 10°25'42.9"N 75°32'54.0"W. 5 Edificio de Posgrados de Ciencias Humanas – Universidad Nacional de Colombia, 1997-2000 / 4°38' 2.539"N 74° 5' 11.964"W. 6 Casa en Río Frío, 1997-2000 7 Parque y Biblioteca Virgilio Barco, 1999-2001 /4°39'26.027" N 74°5'18.583"W It is the purpose of architecture to propose spaces that allow time to go by. It is an ethical way to counteract, to oppose that absurd notion, yet so ingrained in our age, that time is “lost”. That is why architecture is also memory, since it unequivocally reestablishes that intimate unity between the individual, space, and their time. Rogelio Salmona The work of Rogelio Salmona (Paris, France 1927 – Bogotá, Colombia 2007) reflects the spirit of a man with an unwavering ethical position and a strong social and political commitment, all of which is expressed in an architecture of high technical, aesthetic and poetic standards. His incessant pursuit was to promote an open city, starting with the defense of human rights and the creation of public places for diverse encounters. Even in its most abstract aspects, his architecture is in deep communion and understanding of the place. Both memory and territory, as well as the urban landscape and the natural environment, are essential references in his work.