A project that started with uncertainties instead of the usual requirements for permanent living spaces, demanded we shifted the way we approached architecture.
The project as it is now, is a house; it became a house in the process, with its actual configuration decided during construction, its final purpose and use still undecided, its duration as a house uncertain.
We approached the design for this building from a position that questions the solutions currently being produced in Quito in response to the necessity of densifying the city with mid rise construction.
Can we as architects provide economically attractive solutions for the real state market while meeting the new standards set by the City Government for responsible and efficient construction? But most importantly how do we reconcile market interest that focus on the individual, hermetic apartment isolated as much as possible from the discomforts and complications of public urban living, with the urgent necessity for architecture to be the tool for place making in a disjointed, hard-edged city?
odD House 1.0, located in the sector of Tumbaco in Quito, Ecuador was conceived as a therapeutic experiment and change of lifestyle for an elderly couple and their family after living in a rustic style home for over 30+ years. Facing very specific demands from the client, the architects strategized on a methodology for the design and final product by studying Neuroscience as well as the client´s lifestyle. This made the initial solution towards solving the design of the house easier; it made a clear diagram, and gave a design direction towards the client`s main needs. It also raised questions about overall form and language.
The Retoños house belongs to a large extended family made up of several smaller families. The clients, Alvaro and María, wanted a house in which to bring together their 16 family members, including children and grandchildren. As a close-knit family, they get together very often. Until now, this took place in a small apartment in Quito, so they were looking for a quieter place far from the noise and drab environment of the city.
Culunco is the name given to the paths situated in the middle of a dense vegetation, generally paths that were created for ancient villages of Latin America, like those of the Incas. This is as well the name that the architects from Al Borde chose for an excavated house in the middle of a sloping ground, surrounded by earth and trees in the Valley of Tumbaco, in Quito. The original project was composed of two houses, one of which was finally built, constructed with local materials.
The challenge of the architects Esteban I. Andrade A. (ea+arq) and Francisco Vásquez, in the apartments Buildings Design named Acanto, was to create a contemporary project, denoting the volumes with different textures without distorting the architectural environment of the neighborhood, that’s why we´ve used several finished as bricks, concrete and stainless steel.
With a front line of 20 mts. and 28 mts. of depth, we´ve accomplished a project of 14 departments on eight floors and two parking subsoil’s.
The project has been created on a terrain located at Bellavista, which haves as a principal attraction the excellent location and a privileged view of Quito.
To the north east of the capital city of Ecuador, Quito, the project is located in an area of 4000m2, within an area of high real estate development where this architectural icon is placed.
The project proposes conceptually, the idea of Strength, Safety and Innovation, generating a proposal constituted by the articulation of two main volumes (one that faces directly to the Pichincha volcano) consolidating a public square as a contribution to the embellishment and decoration of the city.
The site of the proposal has been conceived as a continuous environment without barriers and open to the public transmitting dimensional dynamic space (proposal) to the mentioned Complex. Likewise, the proposal is setback generating a large entrance plaza to the project not only, but as a gesture of respect and contribution to the immediate environment.
Somatic Collaborative, an architectural practice based out of New York City and Quito, Ecuador created this proposal “Plaza República – a new fine grain open space” for a national competition for Quito’s urban renewal. The design team included Felipe Correa, Anthony Acciavatti, Andrew S. McGee, Andres Izurieta Rueda, and Mariusz Klemens. The Envirornmental and Botanical Consultants for this entry were Meffert + Etheridge Environmental Projects from New Orleans.
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