Cerro Tusa, known as Colombia’s Sacred Mountain (La Montaña Sagrada), rises above Southwest Antioquia as one of the most iconic natural landmarks in the country. It is a perfectly conical volcanic formation that some scholars consider the tallest natural pyramid on Earth. When Comfama, the Gobernación de Antioquia, and the Alcaldía de Venecia joined forces to transform the base of this ancient mountain into a world-class eco-cultural park, the architecture had to be worthy of the landscape. That meant building with Guadua Bamboo.
We are proud to have played a central role in making these bamboo structures a reality. Brought in by TC Construcciones, the general contractor leading the project on behalf of Comfama and the Gobernación de Antioquia, we supplied all the certified Guadua Bamboo® poles for the project, and our master builder Ruben Sanchez worked alongside architect Natalia Dulcey of Taller 77 and the structural engineers throughout the build. He advised on material behavior, connection details, and constructability, and personally fabricated the most technically demanding components of the project: the large-span engineered bamboo roof trusses.
The Project: A Park for Nature, Culture, and Community
Our work ran from July to December 2024, covering the full structural skeletons and the complex engineered bamboo roof systems. The park encompasses approximately 1,200 m² of built area, represented in lightweight, single-story structures elevated off the ground and designed to sit lightly within the mountain landscape.
The key guadua structures include:
- Administration module: the operational hub of the park
- Entrepreneurs’ module: a space for local commerce and community activities
- Entrance gatehouse: the first structure visitors encounter on arrival
Each bamboo structure required its own structural logic, but all share a common philosophy: lightweight, elevated, environmentally integrated, and built to Colombian seismic code (NSR-10).
Our Role: Material Supply and Expert Construction Advisory
Certified Guadua Bamboo® Poles
We supplied all of the guadua bamboo used in the structural skeleton of the park. Every pole was immunized, dried, selected, and cut at our processing facility to meet the quality standards required for public infrastructure in Colombia. Working on a publicly funded project demands full traceability and material certification. The Guadua bamboo poles were selected and graded specifically for the structural loads and spans required by the engineers on each module.
In total, the project used 7,308 meters of guadua poles across various diameters, plus 8,015 meters of quarter-pole slats.
Getting the material to the site added a layer of complexity that is easy to underestimate. The structures sit high up on the mountain, well beyond any road access, which meant every single bamboo pole and bamboo slat had to be carried up by mules and by sheer human effort. More than 15,000 meters of bamboo material, moved uphill the old-fashioned way.
Engineered Bamboo Roof Trusses: From Production to Advisory and Fabrication
In bamboo construction, the gap between a structural drawing and a standing bamboo building is bridged by experience. Our master builder Ruben Sanchez was embedded in the project team from early on, working directly with the architects and engineers to translate design intent into buildable reality: how bamboo joints are cut, how loads are transferred, and how bamboo behaves under the specific conditions of a mountain site with high humidity and direct weather exposure.
His most critical contribution was the fabrication of the large engineered bamboo roof trusses. The bamboo trusses at Cerro Tusa are complex multi-member assemblies spanning significant widths, requiring precise geometry, carefully executed bolted connections, injection mortar at the nodes, and deep knowledge of how individual guadua culms behave as part of a composite structural system. Each bamboo truss was built by hand, on-site, with the precision of a craftsman and the rigor of a structural engineer.
This is exactly the kind of work that separates a well-built guadua structure from one that merely looks like bamboo.
Building to Code in a Public Project
Colombia’s NSR-10 building code sets strict requirements for bamboo used in structural applications, particularly in public works. Meeting these standards requires certified materials, documented treatment processes, and experienced builders who understand how to execute bamboo connections that perform as the engineer of record intends.
For this project, that meant:
- Fully immunized and dried poles, traceable to our processing facility.
- All structures elevated off the ground on custom-designed and fabricated steel platforms and columns, keeping the bamboo fully clear of ground contact and moisture.
- Engineered connections using bolts, rods, and mortar injection at key nodes.
- Structural oversight by Ruben throughout the build, ensuring the as-built condition matched the design intent.
The result is infrastructure built to serve hundred thousand visitors per year. Comfama expects up to 10,000 visitors per month, and the bamboo structures need to perform accordingly.
Bamboo Construction on a Mountain
Working at Cerro Tusa is unlike most construction sites. The project sits at kilometer 6 on the road between Venecia and Bolombolo, 58 km from Medellín, in a landscape of extraordinary natural richness: tropical humid forest, pre-Hispanic stone paths, and a volcanic pyramid that rises steeply above the surrounding hills. The structures had to earn their place in that landscape.
Guadua bamboo was not chosen for aesthetic reasons alone. It was chosen because it is the right material for this context: grown and processed nearby, structurally capable, low in embodied carbon, and deeply connected to the building traditions of the Antioqueño region. Our job was to make sure the material performed at the level the project demanded.
The park officially opened to the public in May 2025, and is now operated jointly by Comfama and the Gobernación de Antioquia. We are proud of what was built here, and proud that our guadua and the expertise of Ruben Sanchez are part of a place that will be visited and loved by the people of Antioquia for generations to come.
