Architecture Competition Monte D'Oiro Wine Tasting Room Honorable mention – Alejandro Saldarriaga and Isaac Tejeira

We’d like to take the opportunity to introduce you to one of our Honorable mention winners for our “Monte D'Oiro Wine Tasting Room” competition – Alejandro Saldarriaga and Isaac Tejeira from Colombia!

Alejandro Saldarriaga and Isaac Tejeira from Colombia

Alejandro Saldarriaga and Isaac Rodrigo Tejeira met at the Harvard Graduate School of Design while undergoing their post-graduate degrees in Architecture and Urbanism. They have rigorously investigated materiality, theory and research at different scales.

Isaac Rodrigo is a designer based in New York City and Peru. He attended Cornell University for his Bachelor of Architecture. He has experience in internationally recognized firms such as Robert A M Stern (New York), Kohn Pedersen Fox (New York), Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (New York), and WW Architecture (Massachusetts).

Alejandro received his professional bachelor's degree in architecture from the Universidad de los Andes in Bogotá, Colombia. He has worked in Bogotá, Boston, and Copenhagen.

Brief information about the projects that you/your company have been involved with. For instance, what scale have you focused on/preferred, any significant projects where the company/individuals have been involved?

In recent years, Isaac has been an active researcher of urban issues in Latin American cities. Isaac is an Eidlitz Fellow, where he researches urban tactics in Medellin. This fellowship expands his investigations of inclusion, immigration, ephemerality and flexibility in strategizing for sustainable multi-centric cities.

Alejandro has participated in several design-build competitions, focusing mainly on small-scale buildings. His main interest lies in the projecting of feasible architecture that is able to generate emotionally moving atmospheres through tectonics and materials.

What does architecture mean to you and what is the role of an architect in your society?

Architecture is a discipline that has the potential to transform complex universal processes while also maintaining delicate and practical attitudes towards the local scale. The responsibility of the architect in our contemporary society is to balance the conceptual pursuit towards innovation with a physically feasible outcome that is sensitive towards its user.

Why do you participate in architecture vision competitions?

By participating in architectural competitions, we allow ourselves to investigate an interest that may include a specific program, scale, or construction that is not commonly explored in academia. Additionally, it is a medium that enables us to render ideas with a potential physical outcome – spaces that people will be able to inhabit and experience.

What advice would you give to individuals who struggle to decide whether it would be beneficial for them to participate in architecture vision competitions?

We HIGHLY recommend that young architects participate in vision competitions. It is a way of pushing you to think about how to organize and communicate a strong concept. It is also an effective way to learn about contemporary representation methods and current architectural trends. It is a process that requires substantial discipline and may not always result in an award. However, the knowledge obtained by analyzing successful entries is a critical skill that is not easily accessible in academia.