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Architects: PJCArchitecture
- Area: 700 ft²
- Year: 2022
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Photographs:Juank Parades Photography
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Manufacturers: Autodesk Revit
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Lead Architects: Nandar Godoy-Dinneen
Text description provided by the architects. At a compact 700 square feet (65 square meters), this weekend getaway in Napoles, Ecuador goes back to basics and celebrates the vernacular architecture of its surroundings. The home’s four primary materials—locally sourced brick, steel, concrete, and glass—interact through simple and pure forms, dappled by an interplay of lights and shadows. In addition to sourcing local materials, Make Estudio, the Design-Build division of PJCArchitecture in Ecuador, employed local craftsmen and crew members to create this hidden gem. The resultant “tiny” home contains one bedroom, one bathroom, and a flexible loft space, and features a passive solar design to accommodate the rapidly shifting temperatures of its locale.
The home is composed of two simple forms connected by a glass bridge. Challenged to include all elements of a full home in a small envelope without the space feeling confined, PJCA conceptualized the design not only in the plan but in sections, creating a double-height space, expanding the interior footprint to meet the exterior mountain views of the nearby city of Quito.
The double-height structure contains a living room, dining room, kitchen, and flexible loft space that can be used as an office or guest room. Custom-built floor-to-ceiling glass and metal doors blend the boundaries between indoors and out, maximizing natural light and capturing exterior views of the landscape while contributing to a more spacious feeling in the home. A custom metal ladder provides access to the loft space. A sculptural bronze fireplace, also custom, provides a point of visual intrigue in the living area.
The smaller structure contains a bathroom and bedroom. The bathroom is divided into two portions—a private section with a toilet and shower, and a sink area just beyond. For an atypical window feature, the team removed segments of the brick wall coursing to create a pattern out of the voids, which were then filled with glass to maintain transparency while enclosing the space. The perforated brick wall creates an interplay of light and shadow within the bathroom space. On the exterior wall, a perforated pattern with plantings increases privacy while incorporating additional green elements.
Located roughly one hour outside of Quito, which rests at 2800 meters above sea level, the home’s locale experiences highly contrasting weather. In the morning and evenings, the weather is mild and cool, and at noon the temperature skyrockets. To accommodate this unusual weather pattern, the home employs a passive solar design approach. The east and west exposures receive direct sunlight in the morning and in the evening. The brick material stores the heat of the day and releases it at night when the temperatures drop.
The operable windows and doors on all sides of the home facilitate cross-air circulation. In a region where air conditioning and heating are uncommon, PJCA employed materials and design strategies to provide comfortable temperatures at all times while favoring energy efficiency.
Throughout the process, the local craftsmen became an integral part of the design process, which was largely developed via on-site communication. The resultant home is an environmentally responsive, comfortable space that fully immerses itself within its locale.
