Tecnoglass Gives “Window of Dreams” Christmas Gift to Barranquilla

Colombia now has a towering monument that pays homage to all the migrants who arrived in the 1900s to help build the city of Barranquilla and contribute to the development of the region. Called the Window of Dreams, the 70-meter-tall structure is made of glass and its light will be visible up to 35 kilometers offshore.

Photo credit: Tecnoglass

Ships in the Caribbean ports will be able to see the light at the entrance of the navigable channel of the port of Barranquilla, at the height of Bocas de Ceniza.

Tecnoglass, Inc. (NYSE: TGLS), a Miami-based window and glass manufacturer that was founded in Barranquilla, donated this monument to the country. The lighthouse was designed by the Ariza brothers and is covered with 1,200 square meters of high-end glass in gradient blue tones. The official unveiling was attended by the Colombian Navy, Atlántico Governor Elsa Noguera, Tecnoglass COO Christian Daes, and Puerto Colombia Mayor Wilmar Vargas.

About eight thousand screws and 25 tons of aluminum were used in the construction of the floating facade that holds the glass. The work was completed in a record time of eight months with the collaboration of 130 workers.

The story behind the figure is interesting. According to the Colombian Society of Architects, two Samarians were the winners of the call to design the monument: architect James Ariza Barraza, a graduate and professor of the Universidad del Atlántico, and engineer Alays Ariza Barraza, a graduate of the Universidad del Magdalena who four years ago founded the design and engineering firm HABA in Santa Marta.

Curiously, the Ariza brothers’ firm was inspired by the drawing of one of the children from the municipality of Puerto Colombia, who were asked by the Tecnoglass Foundation to draw the monument, which was inspired by a lighthouse.