Torre Colpatria
Encyclopedia
Torre Colpatria is a 50-story skyscraper located at the area of San Diego in Bogotá
Bogotá
Bogotá, Distrito Capital , from 1991 to 2000 called Santa Fé de Bogotá, is the capital, and largest city, of Colombia. It is also designated by the national constitution as the capital of the department of Cundinamarca, even though the city of Bogotá now comprises an independent Capital district...

, Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...

. It is the tallest in the country and the second tallest in South America. It was constructed from 1978 until 1979, and has a total height of 196 metres (643 ft). The main headquarters of Colpatria Bank are located in the building, and also a great number of other banks and financial corporations have offices in it. The building lies at the intersection of 26th street and 7th avenue, in the heart of the city's downtown.

Since 1998 the Colpatria Tower is illuminated every night with thirty-six color changing Xenon lights.

The building is a landmark in the country, and it dominates Bogota's skyline along with other structures such as the World Trade Center
Centro de Comercio Internacional
Centro de Comercio Internacional is a skyscraper located in Bogotá, Colombia. The building is 190m/623 ft, 50 floors. The building is another neighbor of the largest skyscraper in Colombia, Torre Colpatria. Inside this building are located some offices of Davivienda Bank, that recently...

, FONADE and Colseguros buildings.

On weekends and holidays, the top floor is open to visitors, where a cafeteria
Cafeteria
A cafeteria is a type of food service location in which there is little or no waiting staff table service, whether a restaurant or within an institution such as a large office building or school; a school dining location is also referred to as a dining hall or canteen...

 and a lookout are located.

Colpatria Tower was to be surpassed as the tallest building in Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...

 by a new 206m tall apartment tower that was being built in the city of Cartagena
Cartagena, Colombia
Cartagena de Indias , is a large Caribbean beach resort city on the northern coast of Colombia in the Caribbean Coast Region and capital of Bolívar Department...

, but that project came to an end after its structure was bent during a series of tremendous winds in 2007 so the city ordered it dismantled. However, in 2014, The BD Bacata complex, in Bogota, with 260 m, will be tallest building in Colombia, and the Colpatria Tower will be on Third Place in the tallest buildings, after the two towers of the complex.

Architecture

The base of the tower is a square, constructed at the juncture of two of the most important avenues in Bogota. The building's facade comprises pilasters of concrete and vertical glazing bars, extending unbroken from ground level to the building's roof. The feature provides ventilation and natural light to offices.

The Torre Colpatria's complex includes a separate ten-floor building, built to give contrast to the main tower's height. There are several public and commercial banking offices, as well as parking facilities.

The tower sports an observation deck on the 49th floor, open to visitors on weekends and holidays. Both its central location in Bogota and its height make the Torre Colpatria one of the city's most important observatories.

Competition

Since 2005, on December 8, takes places the race to climb the nine hundred eighty steps up, where participants, in groups of ten competitors, start every half minute. The record time is 5 minutes 11 seconds. This race is included on the Towerrunning
Tower running
Tower running is a sport, which involves running up tall man-made structures. Usually the races take place on the internal staircases of skyscrapers, but the term can cover any foot race which involves a course that ascends a man-made structure....

 2011, and it's the final race of this year.

Year Built Companies Location
1979 Colpatria Bank Bogotá, Colombia
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