“Tea Room reflects on a minimal architecture that can integrate, understand and be part of its environment; maintaining a balance between the new and the existing, in order to generate spaces for sharing "

The project is located in an agricultural area of the Baba canton - Los Ríos province - Ecuador, over a water channel, surrounded by local flora and fauna. Mr. Pepe, an elderly man, has the habit of drinking a cup of tea and coffee with his family every afternoon and has been doing so for years. The objective was to maintain this tradition within a space that allows the family to be connected to nature and is adaptable to various daily uses.

The project measuring 8m x 4m rises on a water channel, resting on two pre-existing concrete structures that were to be used for the construction of a bridge. The room is configured from its envelope with a basic system of wooden trusses extracted from the same site, built with local labor. The use of fixed and sliding glass panels allows to open up to the environment and blur the built limit, giving continuity to the landscape. The flexible program is complemented by a multifunctional counter and a bathroom.

The view from the inside ends with folding lattice doors that open onto the terrace/balcony where a folding handrail defines the last limit of the project; that, together with the river stone side stairs, allow the possibility to to sit and have a direct connection with the water.

Tea Room emerges as a gesture to understand the possibilities of an open space within a natural environment. It is established as a flexible space, where morning yoga, weekend visits, afternoon tea and Sunday football matches can all be held in one space.