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Architects: Fabrica Nativa Arquitectura
- Year: 2016
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Manufacturers: CONSTRUMAJI S.A., Megahierro, PINTURAS UNIDAS S.A., TUBASEC C.A.
Text description provided by the architects. How many stories exist that go unnoticed, the following tells the story of a young divorced man with three children (very common story in this country) the children occasionally visit him, he corresponds with a monthly allowance stipulated by the Ecuadorian state, with a basic salary and even studying it was difficult to improve his housing.
Thirty years old, he lived in emergent housing with physical problems exacerbated by the ephemeral materiality and the passage of time, on a lot 4.80 m wide by 20 m deep given by his grandfather. Given the situation, the family decides to raise funds to improve the house.
With great determination and thinking of a strategy to recycle some of the existing materials, with a limited budget, we started the project. Of the existing 4.80 m by 5.50 m of construction, we recycled: the roof, sanitary facilities, three out of four walls, the bathroom, half the floor made of wooden slats and particle boards.
The intervention involves balancing the materiality and climate of the city, the first step was to work with the roof made of sheet metal plates, to improve indoor thermal conditions we raised the height of the house, increased the volume of air to be heated, which allowed us to have a good temperature inside most of the day. The front and side walls are completed with translucent polycarbonate recycled sheets using natural light in the day. At night the interior light is projected outwards.
This first response allows us to think of an alternative interior design that fits his current lifestyle. We designed a single container for all activities: sleeping, eating, socializing, grooming and caring for children when they visit. The second response was the structure, we designed it with the same square iron pipes forming a framework that is repeated three times, its completion contrasts with the horizontal linearity of neighboring roofs.
The construction process was conducted with local labor, it took six weeks to complete, the finishes of the house only allow the use of color, this covers the house unifying the use of craft blocks, concrete, wood and metal; it gives its expressiveness both inside and outside.
