Architects:Rama estudio

Area:2429ft²

Year:2022

Photographs:Jag Estudio,Andres Villota

Manufacturers:Papel y Luz,Soroche de los Andes,Taller el laberinto

Lead Architects:Carla Chávez, Carolina Rodas, Felipe Donoso

Drawing:Jefferson Camacho

Site Residence:María Laura Espinoza, Solange Núñez

Intern:Kevin Soliz

Laminated Wood:Madebu

Glass And Screens:Rialpac

Concrete:Cretum

Modular Furniture And Closets:Micra

Bahareque:Rama estudio

Program:Housing + Therapeutic Center

City:Tumbaco

Country:Ecuador

Ágape Colectivo is a therapeutic space for body and mind development. Ágape’s founder is a psychologist specializing in yoga and therapeutic theater who needed to expand her workplace. Ágape. Thus, a mixed-use building was designed to accommodate a larger area for multiple therapies and her residence on the upper floor.

As a first step, a setback rammed earth enclosure was built to keep cars out of the lot, creating a fully pedestrian space with natural landscaping inside.

Subsequently, the new timber and earth building embraces the center, featuring a transparent and permeable facade facing the central courtyard.

On the ground floor, public areas are situated, including a multipurpose room for yoga, theater, and concerts.

The bathroom area is located at the center of the space, along with a therapeutic arts room for sculpture and painting. Upstairs, there is a complete apartment with a studio and balcony.

The structure of Ágape functions like a basket. Its main facade is composed of a sequence of slender triangles built with laminated wood beams. Once assembled on the ground, these triangles are mounted on a continuous metal strip with metal feet, separating the wooden structure from the ground.

This not only helps preserve the bahareque walls and wood but also allows users to have an outward view while lying on the floor of the multipurpose room. We aim to make vernacular construction systems accessible.

In this building, we achieve this by modernizing the bahareque construction process, using mortar projection guns with compressors, which allows for covering considerable areas with earth mix in less time and with better compression, while still maintaining artisanal craftsmanship for the finishing layer.

Special details and pieces are manually crafted by local artisans, including metal doorknobs, handles, ceramic and wooden sinks, carpentry, and rice paper.

The landscape is designed to provide privacy and shade to the building, with a forest growing in the center of the lot featuring native trees and plants. Rainwater, shower water, and sink water are collected and filtered for garden irrigation.

Blackwater is connected to a biodigester located in the backyard, disconnecting the building from the public sewage system.

The direct relationship between space and user was decisive in the choice of construction system, materials, ventilation, natural/artificial lighting, and building location on the lot.

This building breathes through its earth walls, utilizing the facade structure as a lattice for sun and shade.  The main challenge was optimizing resources and minimizing impact when it came time to return to the earth.

Project gallery

Project location

Address:Tumbaco, Ecuador