The Bogota Chamber of Commerce and Corferias, in an alliance with the National Government, - and with the support of the Major’s Office- come together to build a megaproject that will transform Bogota into a world-class iconic city.
It is the Bogota International Convention Center, trigger of the project of urban renovation “InnoBo” that will transform the city into one of the five top destinations for conventions, events and congresses in Latin America.
This initiative, headed by the Boards of Directors of the Bogota Chamber of Commerce and Corferias, will be possible thanks to the partnership between the public and private sectors, as a contribution of entrepreneurs to the country’s growth.
The International Convention Center will symbolize the beginning of a great urban transformation that, according to studies carried out by Universidad Nacional, will attract more than 1,000,000 tourists to Bogota in five years. Furthermore, in the same period of time, it will make an impact of 8.4% in the city’s GDP. In addition, it will generate 4,000 new jobs in 10 years and will allow collecting more than $347 billion in annual taxes, given the dynamic it will produce in the city’s economy. A world-class iconic city.
The Convention Center is integrated into the Master Plan for the modernization of Corferias, which will be transformed into the Conventions, Tradeshows and Events District of the capital. In turn it will act as a trigger for the development of the urban innovation ring, INNOBO, which will transform this part of the city and will have great economic, social and environmental impact.
Location and features
The Bogota International Convention Center will be located around Corferias in a space for conventions and events of approximately 24,000 m2. In addition, it will have a multifunctional main auditorium with a capacity for 4,000 persons and 15 additional rooms for events of different formats, with capacity to service between 25 and 2,000 persons.
According to Consuelo Caldas, Executive President of CCB, with this project the Bogota Chamber of Commerce and Corferias hope to show Bogota as a dynamic, inclusive and sustainable city that becomes an urban icon comparable to the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Opera House in Sydney or the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao. In addition, the International Convention Center is framed within the city strategy we have been developing together with the District and the Agency for the attraction of investment to Bogota, Invest in Bogota, to drive business tourism in the city.
International Architecture Competition
The architectural design of the International Convention Center, which will be ready in May 2014, has been submitted to an International Competition made up of two stages, which is open to Colombian and international firms. The firm that submits the best design proposal will win the competition.
This competition has been developed with the support of the Colombian Architects Association and the advice of the renowned architectural firm Gensler. Once the general call stage has been closed, five finalists will be announced in May, who will be formally invited to develop conceptual designs and the winning project will be announced in early August.
During the first stage of the competition, the five (5) candidates that present the best conceptual design will be chosen. For this selection, the following aspects, among others will be graded:
• Design innovation.
• Environmental sustainability.
• Incorporation of the Convention Center to its surroundings.
• Compliance with or exceeding LEED GOLD or similar standards.
• Must be aligned with the transformation process of the area of influence INNOBO and have visual presence making it unique.
The jury in charge of selecting the design of the Bogota International Convention Center is top level and is comprised by well known national and international architects such as: Rodolfo Machado, Carlos Jiménez, Juan Pablo Ortiz and Carlos Cubillos. Likewise, the president of CCB and the president of Corferias will make part of the jury.
Contest Schedule
• March 8: Opening of Stage 1. RFQ (contest terms) of Stage 1. Available online.
• March 14-24: Question submission
• March 24: End of period for questions.
• April 4: Deadline to submit proposals of Stage 1.
• May 2: Opening of Stage 2, announcement of selected candidates, issuance of the design schedule
• June 27: Receipt of design proposals
• July 11-14: Personal presentation of proposals and interviews in Bogota
• August: Winner is announced
To submit your proposal, review the terms of the contest, register, submit your credentials and present your proposals through the proponents’ area in this portal.
For more information, click here.