project: A house among the trees
Architects: El Syndicato Arquitectura
Site: Quito, Ecuador
region: 2,713 SF
year: 2019
photos by: Courtesy of El Sindicato Arquitectura
House Among the Trees by El Sindicato Arquitectura
El Sindicato Arquitectura designed the House Among the Trees project in Quito, Ecuador. True to its name, this house is located in a plot with large trees, so the design aims to make the most of this wonderful natural environment. The Slope House we recently featured was designed by this studio, so you might want to check that out as well.
On a plot with large trees, the client sought to live close to nature, so that it should become a distinctive part of the architecture and be inhabited in addition to the built object.
Respecting the trees and shrubs on the ground, a modular path is defined, where the different living spaces are interconnected. The social spaces open to the path and to the visual projection of nature and close towards the street, and the private spaces close towards the path and become completely retractable.
As a requirement, each built space has a visual relationship and direct physical connection to at least one natural space. While the pathway clearly defines the central garden of the house as semi-private, the living spaces give their own gardens their own character.
In spaces that need privacy such as bedrooms and bathrooms, the personality is introverted. Its gardens are bordered by lattice-filled load-bearing facades and exterior walls, which separate from the living quarters, ensuring privacy and direct contact with nature.
In spaces dedicated to social activities such as the kitchen, dining room and living room, the personality is extroverted. .
The gardens are defined by load-bearing glass facades, windows and doors that ensure visual permeability towards the constructed object and the boundaries of the plot
Load-bearing facades combine the concept of structure with the concept of frame. Prefabrication from solid wood of one type of minimal cross-columns, repeating them in units of 1.22m and tying them together in thirds, we create load-bearing facades that ensure structural stability and lead to spans of adequate dimensions for fixing glass, windows, doors and altarpieces as dictated by the character of the built object.
– El Syndicato Arquitectura
