Festival of Flowers
Harvard Graduate School of Design 
Cambridge, 2024
Instructor: Camilo Restrepo Ochoa
Collaborator: Nicky Rhodes

Festival of Flowers is an architectural and cultural intervention centered around Medellín’s iconic annual flower festival, which celebrates the city’s floral industry and rich traditions. As Colombia’s second-largest export, flowers play a critical economic and cultural role—particularly in Medellín, the “City of Eternal Spring.” This project introduces a dynamic flower facility adjacent to the city’s parade route that serves as a year-round hub for floral cultivation, cultural exchange, and sustainable reuse of flower waste. By transforming a former tin factory into a multi-functional space with open greenhouses, workshops, lodging, and material research labs, the project bridges urban and rural communities while addressing challenges like displacement, gentrification, and post-festival waste. Repurposed materials and dried flowers are incorporated into architecture, creating a living archive that honors the labor of flower growers and the spirit of the festival, extending its impact well beyond its ephemeral celebration.