Magdalena River Waterfront Competition

The Magdalena Riverbank Competition called for the conceptual development of a mixed-use complex in Neiva, Huila, Colombia. The private competition was organized by the Colombian Society of Architects on behalf of a private client and invited several architecture firms to propose a new urban center connected to the Magdalena River.

The intervention area comprises four sites with a combined area of 66,667 sqm. AKURAT’s proposal includes approximately 210,000 sqm of built area, including parking and amenities. The program combines housing, a hotel, retail spaces, offices, a cultural center, public spaces, and shared facilities.

The primary challenge was to connect the four sites and coordinate the diversity of programs within a coherent development capable of engaging the river, strengthening pedestrian mobility, and creating public and semi-public gathering spaces. The scale of the project also required clear connections between its various components without losing its relationship with the river landscape.

The concept activates the ground floors as spaces for connection, social interaction, and exchange. Rather than treating the buildings as separate objects, the proposal uses podiums, pedestrian routes, and outdoor areas as shared infrastructure connecting the different uses.

One of the project’s main components extends the existing riverwalk through a new promenade along the development. This intervention connects with the retail program and prioritizes the pedestrian experience, creating spaces for gathering, resting, and contemplating the Magdalena River landscape.

A second pedestrian route follows the Matamundos stream and connects the eastern and western areas of the development. The proposal incorporates a sequence of ponds and landscaped areas associated with the watercourse, conceived as a conceptual strategy for water management, environmental integration, and the recovery of the outdoor realm. The intervention is not presented as a technically validated water-treatment system, as the participation of a specialized hydraulic or environmental engineering consultant has not been confirmed.

The route along the stream also connects the retail areas with the cultural center. The cultural program is envisioned as a collective space, a meeting point, and a landmark within the development, linking cultural activities with pedestrian circulation, the landscape, and the other components of the project.

The hotel is distributed between the podium of the towers and a dedicated building. Its indoor and outdoor amenities are primarily concentrated within the podium to extend the guest experience toward terraces and open-air spaces.

Within the residential program, amenities are distributed across several levels. The podiums, intermediate floors, and rooftops incorporate fitness areas, sports courts, contemplation spaces, terraces, and relaxation areas. This organization creates connections between the towers, diversifies the shared facilities, and takes advantage of different elevations and views throughout the development.

AKURAT’s proposal brings architecture, public space, landscape, and pedestrian mobility together within a unified design strategy. The firm’s scope was limited to the concept design developed for the competition and included the definition of the site-planning strategy, the overall organization of the program, the massing criteria, the pedestrian connections, and the relationship between the development, the river, and the stream.

AKURAT’s proposal was not selected as the winning entry and therefore did not proceed to executive design, technical coordination, construction supervision, or construction. Its primary value lies in formulating an integrated vision for transforming the four sites into a mixed-use development connected to the river landscape and structured through public spaces, pedestrian routes, and complementary programs.

Somos especialistas en diseño y gestión de proyectos, comprometidos con la sustentabilidad para la construcción de las ciudades. “Lo que se piensa, se hace”.