AVENIDA DEL RIO

Architectural design: Arc. Ricardo Vives
Design team: Arc. Ricardo Vives, Arc. Elias Bernal, Daniel Blanco, Paul Soto

Design firm: Diseños y Conceptos
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Designed with an urban, practical, and cutting-edge identity, the latest project from Diseños y Conceptos, the Barranquilla Grand Malecón, stems from the need to restore the relationship between the city and the Magdalena River. This connection was once lost but has been pivotal for the socio-cultural and economic development of one of Colombia's most important cities. The river that borders Barranquilla is Colombia's most significant, situated in the northern part of the country. Barranquilla is considered the birthplace of Colombian Caribbean identity, largely due to its location parallel to the mouth of the Magdalena River into the Caribbean Sea—an ideal context for immigrant arrivals.

​It is precisely the proximity between the sea and the river that influenced Barranquilla to be known as the Golden Gate and would initiate an urban development that shapes the city as it is today: a constantly evolving metropolis seeking a cosmopolitan lifestyle without compromising its Caribbean identity. Within this context—and the initiative to reclaim the river—projects like the Grand Malecón emerge: an architectural and urban design project consisting of three zones spanning 4.5 kilometers along the Magdalena coastline, aiming to restore the lost connection between the city and the river.