Simon Velez, Colombian Architect on Culture of Bamboo
Updated on April 12, 2025 by Meg Pier
Meet Bogota resident, Simon Velez, who shares his views on eco-architecture & politics of building with "poor people's wood" or bamboo.
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Dear Meg,
That was a wonderful article about Simon Velez.
What struck me is the attitude of those in charge of promoting growth in a town, city, having an attitude against guadua bamboo as a material of the poor people.
Simon Velez has shown, the beauty of building with a renewable material, that does not require imports from abroad, such as cement in the past.
I am from Bogotá myself, and I admire and get a tingling feeling when I see his buildings… They remind me of the huts built by our farmers, but of course much more sophisticated. They are beautiful and they ground us to the earth, and that is a good feeling.
I came to the US when I was 12 years old, when I did not speak English, and now I am a professor of English at Santa Fe College, here in Gainesville, Florida.
My students are adults seeking the American Dream, because of the political and economic unrest in their countries, such as Colombia, Venezuela, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Haiti and now we have many Ukrainians.
Thank you again for your article and for interviewing Simon Velez.
Regards,
Haydee Britton
britton.haydee@gmail.com
352-215-7704
Dear Haydee! What a lovely message and I am so sorry to be so slow in replying to it. Simon was a wonderful interview subject and I got tingles myself to be able to meet him in his own home and then also go with him to a building he was redesigning. He was quite direct about his POV in a charming and down to earth way.
Your own story sounds remarkable as well and I love that you are paying forward your own experience to help othes achieve their dreams! That’s the very essence of the America I believe in. Thanks so much for commenting!
Thank you for your article of Simón Velez!!
Worked with Simone very many years ago. Sailfish point Stewart Florida for the puerto family. Where I was there builder? I would like to make contact with him. What a wonderful human being thank you and advance