Colombian architect and photographer María Elvira Madriñán joins us for this week’s Friday@1 lecture, exploring the living city she built - and documented - alongside Rogelio Salmona: a Bogotá of brick, water, and light where courtyards choreograph public life.
In this talk, Madriñán traces “la idea continua” - the continuous idea - through decades of collaboration, fieldwork, and stewardship of Salmona’s legacy, revealing how material, landscape, and memory nurture collective belonging. Drawing on her own images and on the Fundación Rogelio Salmona’s research and prize initiatives, she connects Latin American modernism to today’s conversations about World Heritage and the human city. Come for the architecture; stay for the ethics of place-making.
María Elvira Madriñán is a Colombian architect, photographer, and President of the Fundación Rogelio Salmona. For nearly three decades she collaborated closely with Salmona, documenting and advancing his humanist vision in projects, archives, and public programs. Her photographs of Salmona’s works have been widely published; she lectures internationally on architecture as social art and on Latin American contributions to World Heritage. Madriñán leads the Foundation’s award and educational initiatives that extend “la arquitectura de la ciudad humana” across the region.
What is Friday@1?
On most Fridays at 1 p.m. during the academic term, PSU School of Architecture students and faculty gather to hear from professional designers and architects, academics, visiting artists, innovators, and students in the program. Friday@1 is a perfect way to wrap up each week of intense creativity in the studio and get inspired for the productive weekend ahead.
Free and open to the public. All are welcome.
Image: Biblioteca Publica Virgilio Barco by Rogelio Salmona