American photographer Kurt Hollander's latest photo series focuses on the aluminium-clad homes in the Colombian city of Quibdo, which he has termed shimmering architecture.
The collection of photos documents a series of buildings in the city of Quibdo, located within the rainforest in west Colombia, that are clad with self-adhesive aluminium sheeting to protect them from the local climate.
Hollander first spotted the shimmering architecture from an aeroplane on his way to visit Quibdo.
Kurt Hollander photographed the aluminium-clad homes in Quibdo
"On a two-week-long escape from the pandemic lockdown in Cali, my current city of residence, I travelled to Quibdo, a rainforest city in Colombia populated mostly by Afro-Colombians and indigenous people," said Hollander. "As I was flying in, the sun broke through the clouds and dozens of buildings wrapped in self-adhesive asphalt with an aluminium foil surface lit up and began to shimmer in the sunlight, something which, as far as I know, doesn't exist in any other Colombian city or elsewhere," he told Dezeen.
Hollander termed this shimmering architecture
Made for protecting flat roofs, the asphalt and aluminium sheeting has a practical purpose of protecting concrete and breeze blocks from the wet and bright, tropical weather. However, Hollander also believes that the shiny finish is desirable in a city that has a long connection to mining.
As with previous modern building components, like stainless steel mosq...