The campus, the city, and nature: understanding the motivations for the Faculty of Integrated Arts in the Universidad del Valle’s project

This article exposes the reflections which gave shape to the winning entry in an architecture competition held in 1994 to build the Faculty of Integrated Arts of the Universidad del Valle in Cali, Colombia. It emphasizes on considerations aimed to improve an originally suburban campus without differentiated open areas, based on planning principles commonly accepted in the middle of the 20th century. It cites the readings, project references and autobiographical memories which contributed to envisage a building capable to address both the social interaction needs of the academic community and the site´s landscape and climate.