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Posts Tagged ‘Sangolquí’

Casa Ortega in Sangolquí, Ecuador by Estudio A0 & Ana Maria Durán Calisto

Friday, June 8th, 2018

Article source: Estudio A0 & Ana Maria Durán Calisto

To design a house for someone is to build a portrait: the portrait of one or more human beings in their relationship with others and their surroundings. Casa Ortega was designed for a devout son. The commission was clear: a home with two pavilions, one for Raúl and his latent family, another one for his parents. Two houses in one: independent and interdependent. Two open links that string together in a horizontal 8, symbol of the infinite, of eternal return. One way to unravel bonds without piercing them is to offer each lace a space for autonomy. The social spaces of the house (kitchen, dining room and main living room) are the place for sharing and bonding. The private spaces (bedrooms, independent living rooms and bathrooms) provide the place for intimacy. The house design resulted, therefore, from the assembly of two pieces of equal size but different scale: a C which would scoop a garden for Raúl and his family, and an inverted C which would scoop another garden for his parents. The first one would funnel the afternoon sun and would be oriented towards the cordillera that provides the skyline in the horizon; the second one would receive the morning sun and would fold towards the interior. The double nature of the house decanted in a larger footprint for the private area, located in the upper floor. The difference between ground and upper floor was mediated by two inclined planes which provided the perfect opportunity to lodge an escalated library for Raúl, and a cascading inner garden for his mother.