The main question this project is forcing us to ask is how to create a university campus in a tropical climate without entering in the undesirable energy consumption caused by mechanic climate control. The client, interested in sustainable construction and with educational facilities in many tropical areas of Colombia, encouraged us to develop an exemplary project that would properly adapt to its context without incurring in costly air conditioning systems.

The climate in the city of Villavicencio can be considered as a perfect case study for these warmer areas of Colombia. Situated at 450 meters above sea level, with an average temperature of 25.5°C and an increased thermal sensation for its relative humidity close to 80%, it undoubtedly calls for efficient strategies to temper the different spaces of the campus. A well-planned, bioclimatic architecture will be capable of providing the required thermal comfort, both inside the classrooms and for the outdoor spaces of the campus. With this conviction in mind, a number of spatial strategies are devised to achieve the most comfortable environment possible for students, teachers and supporting staff.

On the one hand, in the layout of the different architectural volumes on the site of over 2 hectares, the 5-storey buildings are prioritized to obtain the most beneficial solar orientation. The 4-level administration building, placed along the access road, features a second skin façade in lattice brickwork to reduce solar incidence during the early morning and late afternoons.    

Secondly, the employed natural ventilation strategies oblige for the campus noise to be controlled, in order to achieve the desired acoustic conditions in the classrooms. A series of silent patios are therefore implemented, towards which the classrooms are opened up. Together with the acoustic attenuators located between the rooms and the hallways, cross-ventilation is enabled and will let the air flow through the rooms, while leaving the noise outside. The classroom buildings are free of glass, and the separation between indoor and outdoor is articulated by lattice brickwork, louvres and sliding doors.

The design of the public areas is centered on two main courts, located between the buildings, in which permeable pavements and native vegetation enhance the bioclimatic approach of the interior areas. Water is the central theme of the landscaping design and is treated as a material, constantly changing and defining dry zones (buildings), flow areas (squares and seating areas) and floodable plains (rain gardens and water basins).