La Memoria del Rio
“La Memoria del Río” is a project situated at the intersection of public art and ephemeral architecture, conceived as a temporary infrastructure capable of reactivating urban spaces in the city of Bogotá through cultural uses. The initiative emerges from the Secretaría Distrital de Recreación y Deporte (SDRD) specifically through the secretary of culture Santiago Trujillo, the director of art, culture an patrimony, Edgar Figueroa and with the team composed of Edgar Bernal, Emmanuel Guerra, Juliana Mendoza, Diego Rodríguez y Juan Sebastián Robayo. Who advocate for a temporary—rather than permanent—intervention as a strategy to decentralize cultural activities and allow different neighborhoods across the city to host its programs.
The conceptual framework of the proposal draws inspiration from the city’s hydrological systems, particularly its rivers—natural infrastructures that have been historically neglected throughout Bogotá’s urban growth. These systems, originating in the eastern mountain range, are characterized by their dynamic condition and their ability to adapt to varying spatial and temporal contexts. This phenomenological understanding informed the design of a modular, flexible roof structure whose fluid materiality seeks to evoke and celebrate the hydrological systems of Bogota´s sabana.
Based on these conceptual parameters, the team formed by El Líder S.A.S., INGEACERO, and Alsar-Atelier developed a module measuring 6 meters in length, 8 meters in width, and 5 meters in height, with unidirectional expandability defined by a vaulted elevation. The construction system relies exclusively on dry connections, allowing the module to function as an assemblable unit that can be deployed across diverse urban contexts—such as streets, plazas, or sports courts—and adapted to different spatial configurations. The module can also be subdivided to activate multiple urban spaces simultaneously. Since the structure does not rely on permanent anchoring, it can be installed even in heritage contexts without causing irreversible impact, reinforcing its condition as a reversible architecture capable of appearing and disappearing, leaving traces only through memory.
In alignment with this conceptual approach, the interior atmosphere seeks to abstractly represent the behavior of water, paying homage to the memory of rivers through the idea of a “ghost river” suspended within the roof. Water, understood as a liquid matter composed of particles in constant motion, is translated into the ceiling through 15,000 blue fabric fragments. Their movement, driven by the wind, establishes a direct dialogue with the physical properties of a river and, when placed beneath a transparent polycarbonate roof, generates a dynamic atmosphere through shifting patterns of light, shadow, and transparency.
The Parque Bicentenario, designed by architect Giancarlo Mazzanti and located between the Parque de la Independencia and the Museo de Arte Moderno de Bogotá, was selected as the project’s initial site and as a testing ground for its functionality. Within a context characterized by the absence of a clear dimensional order and by variable topography, “La Memoria del Río” adapts in a manner analogous to the way a river settles into a valley. With a construction period of four weeks, the project has already hosted a range of cultural activities, including gastronomic festivals, circus performances, and artistic and theatrical events. During the first semester of 2026, the project will remain at this initial site and will later be deployed recurrently in different locations throughout the city, consolidating itself as a mobile cultural infrastructure.
More than a temporary structure, La Memoria del Río is conceived as a public sculpture for the arts—an ephemeral architecture that accompanies the rhythms of the city and seeks to reconnect Bogotá with the memory of its rivers, while demonstrating the transformative potential of culture within urban space.
