In order to design buildings with a sensuous connection to life, one must think in a way that goes far beyond form and construction.
Peter Zumthor.
Frajare’s coffee plantation is located in Nanegalito’s valley, a dense tropical rainforest 40 minutes away from Quito. This piece of land is home to a mountain grown coffee bean, which also has an impressive panorama given by its ruptured and steep terrain.
The owner wished to have a space where the production methods and process could be explained while having a cup of coffee with the amazing panorama in the background.
A mass-plan was proposed, with the smallest building engaged first. The building on top of the terrain has a 180 field of view that focuses on the coffee plantations (1), the drying area (2) and the storage (3) and packaging area (4).
The building was designed using a 120 x 60 module that focused on material efficiency because of the lack high quality material around the area.
Frajares coffee pavilion
Historically Quito´s Villaflora neighborhood has been either a political, economic or social conflict zone. Villaflora´s plan was thought to be the solution to housing and transportation in the mid 60´s but this turned to be wrong, filled with robbery, drug addiction and homelessness. The site located in the epicenter of this sector, was an uncertain site to develop a commercial building, because of the criminality and lack of pedestrian traffic relegated by the given importance to the vehicle.
The building therefore is a response to these problems, it is on the search to restore the promise of a well planned neighborhood, providing it with security, pedestrian paths and a new look that adds up to the sector. The commercial building is composed by a North - South slab and a East - West pedestrian circulation. The slab faces the most important pedestrian and vehicle street. The proposed slab gives the needed importance to the pedestrian walk area competing with the oppressing importance given to the car by creating a promenade in which the neighborhood can walk and interact with each other.
Main roads have a great weight in context, the building sets back to create a better sun bathed and more open public space.
The structure is based on a 5x7.5 meter grid, which repeats itself twice vertically and 9 times on a north to south way.
The rigid grid allows an easy way of expansion if needed. This was the case for the first 6 stores.
The commercial plaza creates a new path by breaking the typological slab and letting pedestrians cross though the project.
This was conceived by connecting the back side “plaza de los enamorados” (2) which has an important pedestrian connection (3) with the Metro station (4). This allows the secure path though the project to the main avenue Av. Maldonado (7).
The project has a main visual connector on each store balcony. This creates a lost neighborhood culture, where verbal and visual relationships are created.
Between the two main slabs a pathway is made. This creates a interesting stairway, where various trees can be planted. A ramp crosses through the space giving each stair a platform for people to sit on, therefore creating a resting and meeting area for many visitors.
A dynamic promenade weaving the plaza, exposes all of the stores to the visitor, giving them different walk opportunities.
The inclination of the roofs open up to the main street and also to the main visual, Quito’s downtown and the Panecillo’s Virgin Mary.
In the background, the project that inspired the prolonged facade beams, “La cima de la libertad” Liberty’s summit.
The balcony, a colonial trove found on Quito’s downtown is used as a historical memory of
Each store typology is based on a two story slab, facing the main street. If desired, multiple stores can be joined as for they are modular.
The parking lot uses a low velocity brick for flooring, making the relation between people and vehicles easier. The pedestrian crossing is followed by vegetation for differentiation.
The main pedestrian pathway connects the metro station with the main avenue Maldonado. Going through the municipal back plaza (Lover’s plaza) which has been refurbished using the same materials, lighting and vegetation used on the commercial plaza.
1 - Concrete covering
2 - IPE steel beam
3 - Aluminum sun shades
4 - Brick siding facade
5 - Fiber-cement plate
6 - Acoustic insulator
7 - Fabric propaganda strip
8 - Aluminum window frame
9 - 30x10 Masonry brick
10 - Manzanar Tree
11 - White inlay wall
12 - Concrete column
13 - 60x120 Grey Tiles
14 - Tile mortar
15 - 3¨Drainage pipe
16 - Medium size sediment
17 - Fertilized earth
18 - Asphalt layer
19 - 40x20 Cinder block
20 - 10 cm Concrete slab
21 - 40x20 IPE beam
22 - Black aluminum sheet
23 - Gypsum sealing
24 - 60x20 IPE beam
25 - Steel security shading
Mies Redux
T4T Lab - Texas A&M 2015
University project
Professors: Gilles Retsin, Gabriel Esquivel
The project following Levi Bryant’s philosophy and based on Franz Kline’s painting the Ballentine , simplifies its geometry to a single line which takes part as a machine that without knowing its scale or final mass, creates itself into completion. Hence the project is merely a snapshot of its existence where we can see the initial scale, the Line. Levi’s book the Democracy of Objects, follows object oriented ontology’s philosophy guided by a dadaist vision, experiments with aesthetic relations between objects and how these can create a whole working as an assembly ,the course was guided by Guilles Retsin with a Barlett experimentation background.
City Scale Sector Scale Building Scale Scale:
The project explores various scales, from the mega city it reduces its size to get to the detail configured by the line. This scales represented on the deconstruction by pieces, create objects that we can understand as cities composed by multiple scales buildings grouped into a city. The scale therefore is a composed fantasy that we have created to give the project a sense of scale for it to be understood and give labels to the various fractal objects it is composed of.
Representative Perspective Hose Scale
Representative View No Scale
Decomposition of parts Building pieces / Line
Representative Facade No Scale
Representative Section No Scale
VisAndes Headquaters Competition
Sangolqui
Obrum + Arquitectura X 2022
The competition demanded a new building for the headquarters of a credit bank. Their philosophy being that a community must be constructed in order to change a society had a real influence in our design.
The gardens crossed though the project creating an open space for all visitors, and involving the community into knowing the credit bank more in dept.
The building is created therefore in two bodies divided into public and private spaces distinguished only by the skin of the building. VisAndes building also wanted to create a great number of green spaces that would transform Sangolqui which is a well known industrial site near the old rail tracks and which will be transformed into a lineal park, a project done with the help of VisAndes and the municipality.
The building created by an array of wooden structure placed horizontally, faces the main entrance of the building site. The program organized as a stem would create main and secondary paths that go from public through private as the project develops as the terrain goes deep into the gardens.
The greenery organized as vertical strips gives the project a open sensation and also invites the wonderer to walk and explore the project. A number of public spaces are proposed on the surroundings of the building as well as the roof of the project. A bicycle track is placed as a plus given that the old rail tracks nearby will have a cycling path.
The building create a false topography protruding from the track giving the pedestrian and cyclist community a glance into the offices of VisAndes and there fore creating a visual connection between both actors of the building.
Residential Area
City Landmarks
Green Spaces
Paths and Landmarks
Endemic flora location.
