Caiman

One of the greatest students of nature is probably Andy Goldsworthy. His archive of work features hundreds of organic formations that articulate the connection he felt to everything from chains of daisies to river rocks. Through this same kaleidoscope is how we see our Caiman project, a small but clever academic campus in Bogotá, Colombia. This school for grades K4 to 12th is a place where children can learn and grow from the natural reserve on which it is situated. Powered literally and figuratively by solar energy, the building’s design is shaped by a sense of grounded levity featuring a learning kitchen that serves as a respite for staff, a theatre workshop for the kid’s imaginative productions, and a verdant garden for those with green thumbs. Favorite detail: working with mostly local materials, we’ve discovered a Hulkish type of bamboo called Guadua angustifolia. Known as vegetal steel, its nickname is this project’s namesake, Caiman, after the plant’s resemblance to crocodiles.