Architects:AL BORDE

Year :2017

Photographs :JAG Studio

Collaborators : Charlotte Vaxelaire

Construction Management : José Guerrero

Structure : Patricio Cevallos & Mathieu Lamour

Construction : Maestro Miguel Ramos + ENOBRA + Edison Marcial

Country : Ecuador

Built in the late eighteenth century, at first sight, the house gave the impression of not being useful at all. It had only a one-floor plan, the brick floor was broken, the eighty square meters were dark and cold, and the wood roof structure was rotten. Only the earth walls seemed able to be refurbished, which at first glance they did not look so bad at all.

The family does not seek privacy: the kitchen, living, dining, and bathroom are for communal use. Almost public because the project is thought to receive visitors and friends all the time. In this house for all, the private space is reduced to the bed of each one of the members of the family.

The final finishes of the completed work are almost the same as they were there in the eighteenth century. The refurbish actions are a few and strategic: structural walls are reinforced, rammed earth is treated, doors and windows that were in poor condition are changed, and the floor is polished concrete.

The project demands a new roof, so we take advantage of this action and solve the bedrooms too. A new upper bond beam connects the walls. Over it, eucalyptus trusses were installed each meter and fifty-five centimeters. Between each truss, there is a bed, in total three pairs of habitable trusses were assembled.

It was impossible to reuse the roof tiles; their poor condition turned them into patio backfill material. The roof is solved with shingles of old tires and a ridge of recycled glass that swallows light, heats, and illuminates the interior.

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