The Cultural Factory: Art and Popular Traditions Park (TheFá) is located in Barrio Abajo, a working-class community in Barranquilla, Colombia. Housed in a renovated former tobacco factory, the project includes a new building and public square, revitalizing the space for community use.
Situated on Colombia’s Caribbean coast, the Cultural Factory serves as a creative hub for 2,800 young people. It focuses on teaching creative arts and popular traditions tied to the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Barranquilla Carnival culture. Operated by the local government, the facility offers inclusive art and craft education programs for residents from diverse social and economic backgrounds.
The workshops cover 11 disciplines, including music, dance, sculpture, clothing design, painting, poetry, theater, food production, digital filmmaking, and audio technology.
The design of the Cultural Factory draws inspiration from local patterns, behaviors, and cultural phenomena. It incorporates local materials, traditional processes, and manufacturing techniques to realize open architectural concepts.
The building features layered, covered, and open spaces that allow users to adapt or reorganize functional areas over time. As a flexible architectural prototype, the Cultural Factory is being replicated throughout Barranquilla and other Colombian regions, promoting popular art and culture as an inclusive community strategy.
The Cultural Factory is a key element of Colombia’s Urban Regional Transformation Plan, a collaborative initiative between the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
Notably, drawings and models of the project were exhibited at the 17th International Architecture Biennale in Venice in 2021.
Project Drawings
△ Schematic Diagram of Elevation Renovation
△ Sectional Perspective
△ Perspective View
Project Information
Architectural Design: ETH Zurich, UniNorte University
Area: 11,500 square meters
Project Year: 2022
Manufacturer: Hunter Douglas
Design: ETH Zurich – D-ARCH Chair of Architecture and Urban Design / Universidad del Norte de Barranquilla (UniNorte)
Lead Architects: Hubert Klumpner, Diego Ceresuela, Manuel Moreno, Sergio Chirivella (with A. Brillembourg until Feb. 2019)
Design Team: Pablo Levine, Blanca García-Gardelegui, Alejandro Jaramillo, Michael Walczak, Klearjos Eduardo Papanicolaou, Cristian Zabalaga, Lucas Lerchs, Ursina Roffler, Diogo Figueiredo, Lea Rüfenacht (Phase 1 Coordinator), Marie Grob, Sofia Avramopoulou, María Paula Celia, Melanie Imfeld
Image Design: Ruedi & Vera Baur
Consultants at Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich: D-ARCH ITA SUAT, D-ARCH BLOCK RESEARCH GROUP (BRG), D-ARCH ITA Information Architecture
Development and Engineering Team from University of North Barranquilla: Fabián Amaya, Ricardo Vives, Guiselle García, Sharik Pereira, Sharon Pico
Development and Engineering: Andrés Guzmán, Osvaldo Guzmán
Structural Engineering: Antonio Bula, José Solano
Mechanical Engineering: Daniel Soto, Rafael de Jesús
Communication: Lácides Ripoll
Installation: Augusto Sisa
Transportation Consultants: Victor Cantillo, Boris Goenaga
Estimation Consultant: Luis Villadiego
Location: Barranquilla, Colombia
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