cec0261@auburn.edu cecampos2801@gmail.com
Table of contents
The Apothecary of Quito
Medicinal- Gastronomic Market and garden
Pharus
Leisure Center
Habitable Edge
Community Cultural Center
The Quirky Path
Grading project
Ground graden
Series of iterations
Art
Medicinal- Gastronomic Market and garden
5th Year of Architecture School - USFQ
Itchimbia Park - Quito, Ecuador
There are two historically important elements present in Quito: the mountains and the commerce. Due to its topographical condition, the city is studied from its transversality and how this quality has impacted the dynamics of commercial exchange. Commerce is identified as an element with the potential to reactivate urban life on the slopes of the Andean city. The Itchimbia Hill in Quito, has been a significant site throughout history. In pre-Columbian times, it was considered a sacred hill and a place for sun worship and agricultural activities. Later, in 2004, the Itchimbia Park was inaugurated at the hill’s summit. This park is also known as “The Apothecary of Quito” due to the presence of medicinal plants.
The project emerges from reinterpreting the market and stripping it of its traditional paradigm through the coexistence of material exchange and the exchange of memories, the coexistence of flows. Material exchange refers to physical trade and buying-selling, while the exchange of memories involves the transmission of ancestral knowledge related to medicinal plants, as well as the sharing of memories inspired by the view of the city. The analysis of Itchimbía Hill, known as the Apothecary of Quito, highlights commerce and tourism as predominant activities, making this area an ideal location to implement a new version of the market.
Leisure Center
4th Year of Architecture School - USFQ
Floresta - Quito, Ecuador
La Floresta is a traditional neighborhood in Quito that has attracted artists, musicians, writers, athletes, among others.
From a historical perspective, there has been socioeconomic segregation between La Floresta and La Vicentina. This division has been exacerbated by a space originally planned for recreation but which has evolved into a physical urban barrier (like an island) that separates the neighborhoods, now home to the Pichincha Sports Complex and the Rumiñahui Coliseum. As a result, vehicular traffic has increased exponentially, generating conflict, chaos, and a sense of confinement for the homo ludens.
This project aims to reconnect the neighborhoods through a space dedicated to recreation and leisure. Site plan
0 10m 50m
Just as a lighthouse marks the beginning and end of a sailor’s journey, this proposal aims to project the idea of a leisure center as a receptor, pathway, and culmination. Repetition fosters well-being.
The project responds to the context with two volumes. The first works as a buffer zone facing Av. Conquistadores (noise). The second is associated with the neighborhood condition (tranquility).
Community Cultural Center
2nd Year of Architecture School- USFQ
Guapulo - Quito, Ecuador
The site is located between the urban core of González Suárez and the slope of Guápulo. This location is significant because, given its position on the hillside, the site can be understood as an edge. Based on this, the main objective of the proposal is to provide a solution to this condition. Therefore, edge strategies are proposed to shape the architectural concept.
These strategies aim to connect, filter, and obstruct the relationship between the public and the project spaces through the building, using blockages and transparencies. This approach seeks to break the boundary condition of the hillside with the building.
The L-shaped building serves to contain the hillside edge, filtering and fragmenting the solid boundary to connect the public space, the plaza, the contemplative garden, and the Guápulo stairways.
Grading project
1st Year of the Master’s in Landscape Architecture
Auburn, AL
The project was conceived to transform the agricultural heritage park into a space where people can walk, rest, and even fish. A careful grading process was essential to the design, as it ensured the landscape flowed naturally and led to the decision to incorporate a bridge. The bridge creates distinct moments along and over the pond, offering an immersive experience for visitors.
Curved and meandering paths guide visitors through the site, with each route offering a unique experience. One path crosses the bridge and serves as a shortcut, while the other, which passes beneath the bridge, is longer. The two paths differ in materials and width, providing contrasting sensations and allowing visitors to engage with the landscape in different ways.
1st Year of the Master’s in Landscape Architecture Auburn, AL
For this project, I focused on the ground. But what does “ground” truly mean? I explored various interpretations and chose to work with the concept of ground as the act of reducing something to small pieces or powder through a grinding process. To reveal the idea of reducing to small pieces and to weaken something, the first operation consists of removing the existing infrastructure found in the site to relocate it, that means removing the asphalt found in the parking lot area, breaking the concrete sidewalks in blocks and removing the gabion retaining wall.
To reveal this weakening process, it is necessary to introduce growth to create contrast. The second operation occurs five years after the first and involves spreading tulip poplar tree seeds. The materials removed during the first operation degrade at varying rates, influencing the soil’s properties and, in turn, the likelihood of seed germination. The final operation takes place five years after the second, during which any remaining debris will be smashed
SITE SECTION (1” = 10’)
5 YEARS AFTER OPERATION 2
BODY-SCALE SECTION (1/2” = 1’)
5 years old Tulip tree in less optimal conditions
SITE SECTION (1” = 10’)
5 YEARS AFTER OPERATION
Collection of drawing and artistic exploration
