Indie
LAB
The construction of Indie Lab posed a challenge on two fronts: highlighting the constructive purity, as it is a building where the design embodies the inherent expression of the material. And the organic geometry of the project, which generally doesn't align with the pragmatism of engineering.
Form follows function
The footprint of the building is subject to a solution that addresses a regulatory constraint. The project is located just meters away from a ravine; in this sense, the curvature responds to the geometry of the water body over the formal aesthetics of architectural design.
There’s a clear reinterpretation of ornamentation in New York facades that reflects a balance between tradition and innovation. From the intricate details of Beaux-Arts architecture to the clean lines of the Modern Movement, a stylistic evolution is observed. In this case, ornamentation is displaced by the pursuit of cleanliness in the facade’s geometry; the line and the economy of material as both a constructive and aesthetic principle.
Technique as the core
In the entrance facade, the focal point is the exposed concrete, and it's not by chance. Inside, the spaces composing this block are those intended for vertical circulation (elevators and stairs). To free up usable area inside, they were placed to one side, which opened the door to play with the plastic possibilities of concrete. It's paradoxical that a stonelike material allows itself to be the meeting point between logic and the organic.
Despite understanding a building as a vertical construction, which in this case is highlighted by concrete, the building is constructed based on horizontality. It is at this point that brick and metal become fundamental materials to find a Cartesian contrast.
Indie
LAB
One of the reference points in downtown Medellín, both in geographical location and architectural reference, is the "Portacomidas" building. Although the opening of knowledge resulting from the digital era allows studying projects from abroad as architectural references, it is also important to consider local tradition. Indie Lab, for us as those responsible for its construction, allowed us to reflect and interpret our work as a revaluation of modernity in the architecture of our city, not only as an aesthetic subject, but also as a constructive one.