Torre Colpatria

Colpatria Tower
Colpatria Tower
Torre Colpatria
Record height
	Tallest in Colombia from 1978 to 2 April 2015[I]
Preceded by	Centro de Comercio Internacional, Bogotá; 192 m (630 ft)
Surpassed by	BD Bacatá
General information
Status	Completed
Type	Office, observation
Town or city	Bogotá
Country	Colombia
Construction started	1973
Completed	1978
Opened	1979
Owner	Grupo Empresarial Colpatria
Height
Roof	196 m (643 ft)
Technical details
Floor count	50
Lifts/elevators	13
Design and construction
Architect(s)	Obregón Valenzuela & Cía. Ltda.
Main contractor	Pizano Pradilla Caro & Restrepo Ltda.

The Torre Colpatria (English: Colpatria Tower) is a 50-story skyscraper in the downtown area of Bogotá, Colombia. It is the fourth tallest building in the country. Constructed from 1973 to 1978 and opened in 1979, it has a total height of 196 metres (643 ft), becoming the tallest skyscraper of Colombia and holding that title until 2016, when the south tower of the BD Bacatá was topped off. The main headquarters of the 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 was illuminated every night with thirty-six color changing Xenon lights. In 2012, the Dutch lighting company Philips replaced the old lights with a 120-metre (390 ft)-high LED system to improve the lighting of the building and project high-definition images.^[1] Because of that, and also because it was the tallest skyscraper in Colombia for almost 40 years, the building is a landmark in the country and dominates Bogota's skyline along with other structures such as the BD Bacatá, the World Trade Center, FONADE and Colseguros buildings.

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 has 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.

Stats

Height: 196 metres (643 ft)
Floor count: 50
Top floor: 48
Capacity : 5.000

Competition

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Since 2005, a tower running race takes place on December 8 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.