Domestic slopes in rural Ecuador

RAMA estudio designs a family house with an outstanding energy efficiency scheme and with a very sensitive relation to its site. 

Located in a remote region in central Ecuador, this partially-buried country house by RAMA estudio aims to disturb as little as possible on the environment, wishing to preserve the beauty of the landscape. Depending from where you approach to the site, the mass of the house almost disappears, becoming a new topography.

The project strategy is more than a picturesque response to its setting:  in an upland area with cold climate this ground embedded disposition helps protect against the wind. The plant roofing besides being an extension of the garden, acts as a thermal insulator and even makes a contribution collecting all run of water in a deposit to irrigate the surrounding terrain.

Inside, the spaces are generous and visually interrelated. The architects divided the house into two separate wings fluidly connected by a living room with full-high glass walls from which the relationships of the interior to the beautiful environment are particularly well considered. This configuration generates two halves courtyards that act as filters showing a great skills for designing quality intermediate spaces.

The materials draw on vernacular to connect with its surroundings, local stone and wood are widely used for the structural elements, the partition walls are made of bahareque panels, consisting of mud reinforced with sticks or canes, which is one of the oldest forms of building in America, giving the whole project a delightfully primitive touch.

Project:
Casa Patios
Location:
Ranchos San José, Lasso, Cotopaxi, Ecuador
Architects:
RAMA estudio
Design team:
Carla Chávez, Felipe Donoso, Carolina Rodas
Collaborators:
Gustavo Recalde, Pedro Ospina, Eduardo Pullas, Diego Velez, Mathias Carpio
Completion:
2019

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