An enduring love affair with

bamboo
TEXT: RAMU KATAKAM
PICTURES: GABRIEL OSSA
Simon Velez' creations in bamboo have been an eye-
opener on the use of this giant grass as building material.

This house designed by Simon has a bamboo roof.

It is in the middle of a ranch in Colombia where
polo horses are bred.

SIMON VELEZ has been designing and making bamboo

buildings in Colombia for the past 30 years. He
discovered that he could build major structures with the
indigenous bamboo called ‘guadua' at much lower costs
than with concrete and steel. He was the first to introduce
large-span bridges (especially over motorways for
pedestrians and cyclists to get across) made in bamboo,
and has made a number of other interesting structures as
well with the material.

Simon belongs to a wealthy old family that owns vast

tracts of land and cattle and traces its ancestry to the
Spanish invaders. Interestingly, unlike Mexico, the armies
that invaded South America did not bring their women.
Once they settled, they formed alliances with the local
women, which ultimately resulted in a very attractive
race. Every Colombian has Spanish and Inca blood in
him/her.

THE VIEW FROM the interior of the church near

Cartagena that Simon designed.
Simon's family was among those who preserved some of
the Inca gold and helped create the now-famous gold
museum in Bogota, where the remains of gold jewellery
and artifacts of the Inca empires have been exhibited.

THE CHURCH SET on a barren piece of land on the

edge of a lake. One is struck by the intense use of
bamboo in this extraordinary work of architecture.
During the rains, the water rises in the lake and
the church appears to be floating on the water.

Simon Velez is a third generation architect – his

grandfather was an architect and his father built some of
the contemporary modern buildings of Colombia. Simon
realized that his interest lay in alternative building
materials and has worked with them for more than three
decades. One of his most famous structures is an
immense pavilion for a Mexican artist, which occupies
almost half of one of Mexico City's large squares.

The Germans invited him to build a pavilion for the

Hanover international fair in 2000. This building passed
successfully the stringent structural tests designed to
meet German safety standards. Apparently, the engineer
who did the tests has since been in high praise of this
type of construction.

THE HOUSE IS set in a valley near Cartagena and

has a simple design.

In December 2009, Simon Velez was honored in the

Netherlands with the Prince Claus Award that recognizes
contributions to communities and social change in the
world. This was followed by the Colombian state
conferring on him its highest civilian title for his
outstanding work in that country.
 SIMON VELEZ. HE has worked with bamboo for
more than three decades and created structures
that defy the imagination.

In India, the government has created a National Mission

on Bamboo Application to help revive interest in the use
of bamboo and in growing it. Members of the mission
visited Colombia and sought Simon's advice and also
invited him to India. During his visit about four years ago,
Simon toured many parts of northeastern India, which is
rich in bamboo, and identified some varieties that could
be used successfully to construct buildings on a large
scale.

Indian pavilion
 Its massive bamboo roof is covered with a thin
layer of concrete on which terracotta tiles have
been placed.

Pradeep Sachdeva, an Indian architect and member of

the bamboo mission, convinced him to help build the
Indian pavilion for the Shanghai Expo 2010 (May 1-
October 31). The design of the pavilion, which took about
five months to complete, is the result of a successful
collaboration between two international architects and an
enthusiastic Chinese builder who rediscovered the use of
bamboo in China. The bamboo dome held very well and
measured up to the high safety standards set by the
Chinese. The dome is 34 meters in diameter (the dome of
the Gol Gumbaz in Bijapur is 38 meters and was the
largest dome in India until the grand dome of the
Vipassana centre completed recently in Mumbai eclipsed
it). The Indian pavilion has followed the theme of
greening of the planet and even has a garden on the roof
of the dome – the theme stresses the need to use natural
materials for survival.
One has to just google Simon Velez to find many of the
magnificent buildings he has built and understand his
love affair with the ‘guadua' variety of bamboo. With this
type of bamboo and his experiments with using concrete
at the joints, he was able to use the two materials to
design and build huge spaces. His bridges are path-
breaking and have stood the test of time.

A long verandah faces an equally long swimming

pool. The rooms of the house are lined along the
verandah.

Among his recent buildings is a church that he has not

only designed but also owns. He felt the need to build a
place of worship that follows no religion and to give the
place a sacred feel. His intention was to use the natural
curve of the plant to achieve the structural concept in the
design. The church is set on a barren piece of land close
to the coastal city of Cartagena. During the rainy season
the nearby lake rises almost to the edge of the church
and, as the night view shows, it appears to be floating on
water.

Visiting this extraordinary work of architecture, one is

struck by the intense use of bamboo and the peace and
quiet of the space. Simon had requested us to visit the
place as dusk set in order to experience what a building
made entirely of one material can do to space. As
darkness sets in, the lights bring on a new kind of
exhilaration, which the accompanying pictures illustrate
very well.

THE GARDEN ON the bamboo dome of the India

Pavilion at the Shanghai Expo 2010.

As an architect who has visited many sacred places, I was

amazed to find that a contemporary building made of
natural materials could achieve a quality of space
designers yearn for. I was later invited to see one of
Simon's more recent houses, which he had designed for
an old friend.
In Colombia, the railroads have been made redundant by
the long wars between drug lords, which have made the
areas between cities unsafe. As a result, we had to fly
and drive to many places. Cartagena is a one-hour flight
from the capital Bogota, which is situated 2,600 meters
above sea level. Set in line with the equator, it has
constant weather – cool during the day and chilly at night
– throughout the year. From this beautiful capital affluent
residents have made retreats in the hot valleys on the
way to the Pacific coast.

Rain and moon

The house designed by Simon is built on a ranch set in

one of these valleys and is the centre of a place where
high-quality polo horses are bred. The house is so
designed that the horses live in almost as much comfort
as the occupants of the house.

The design plan is very simple. There is a long verandah

facing an equally long pool, and along the verandah are
the living room, kitchen and bedrooms. The two
bedrooms at the end are bigger and have very large
bathrooms attached, which are partly open to the sky. (I
woke up at night to find the rain pouring in and saw the
moon dancing behind clouds.)
 Views of the dome from the inside.

At the rear are a set of stables, which run along the

length of the house. Below the house is all the equipment
that is required to look after the horses. While the house
looks simple from the outside, it is equipped with
filtration plants, silent generators and pressure pumps for
water supply, making for comfortable living. The massive
bamboo roof is the main feature of the house and is
covered with a thin layer of concrete on which traditional
terracotta tiles are placed.

The interiors are elegantly decorated largely with colorful

fabrics from India and furniture from Bali. The
surrounding countryside is rather stark but is able to
provide a dramatic backdrop to the ranch house. The polo
field in front adds to the spacious nature of the house.
There are a couple of small but equally elegant staff
houses for the attendant staff, who made the stay
extremely pleasurable.

It would be useful to add a few notes on the ‘guadua'

bamboo. Colombia has an abundance of this variety,
which has been used extensively for construction of
buildings there. It looks elegant and is very strong and
can achieve a rapid growth. The plant grows at the rate of
12 cm a day and grows to its full strength in five years.
This prompted Simon to write the book Grow Your Own
House. The guadua bamboo has many uses, including
making furniture. In theory, a new house can be built
using entirely this material, including walls, floors and
windows.

AT NIGHT, THE reflection of the church on the lake.

Bamboo can last a long time if it is protected from water

falling on it. Simon Velez' buildings have large overhangs
that do not allow rainwater to fall on the building.

Simon Velez is a legendary figure in the world of bamboo

– a world that recognizes a material that is sustainable
and as strong as steel. Among his recent works, the most
impressive is the headquarters of the foundation for an
eco-friendly environment. This building is made almost
entirely of bamboo and when lit up at night looks like a
huge cathedral. The sheer size of this structure will
convince many architects that bamboo can be used
extensively.

The popularity of bamboo is growing in Colombia. The

Mayor of the town of Manizales, which is Simon's home
town, has commissioned him to design a new airport
building, which is a fitting tribute to a lifetime of work for
this extraordinary architect.