Edificio UGI, Office building in Bogotá, Colombia

Edificio UGI is a 22-story office building in Bogotá with a central core structure and light-colored stone facing the facade. The interior organizes spaces around this core, which houses elevators, stairs, and bathrooms that serve the office floors surrounding it.

Construction began in 1973 under architect Hernando Vargas Rubiano and brought a new building technique to South America. This innovative approach to office design later influenced how similar structures were built across the region.

Among the first occupants were the Colombian offices of the Inter-American Development Bank, Conavi and the Instituto Colombiano de Ahorro y Vivienda. The building's name comes from the Unión General de Inversiones, the investment company behind it. Its 22 floors now house offices of various companies.

The building is a private office tower, so access is limited to the street and surrounding public space; there is no visitor lobby to enter. From outside, look for the sandstone facade panels, cast in the basement and hoisted into place, and the facade tension cables spaced every 2.8 m. The 22nd-floor heliport, added after the July 1973 Avianca fire, is not visible from street level.

The building was constructed from top to bottom, with floors suspended by cables from the central core, an unusual method at the time. This technique allowed faster construction work and demonstrated that complex engineering was possible in Colombia.