Releasing the most land, preserving the greatest amount of existing trees, and generating an environment for the integration of family and social life are the purposes of this project. The typology of bar and pilotis, transparency and materiality, are proposed as design strategies.
The House BB1 is implanted on flat terrain in the suburbs of Quito. The grounds had a significant amount of fruit trees and virtually no interesting visual relationship to the outside landscape, so it was proposed to guide the social areas inward in order to link them to the gardens. After reviewing several alternatives, it was concluded that the typology of bar and pilotis would be the best strategy to affect the grounds as little as possible.
The house is therefore implanted in a bar that forms the ground floor housing the social spaces, the service areas, and a study. The top bar which houses the bedrooms and family room is oriented in a north – south direction to encourage warmth and sunlight in the bedrooms, and to allow for a visual connection to the garden from the family room and the gallery that defines circulation. This top bar sits on the bottom bar orthogonally and partly on piles, which frees up the lower level and much of the land for green areas that integrate the social spaces. These social spaces include the living room and terraces, thus achieving a permeability between internal (program) and outside (gardens).
Sawn timber, bamboo, laminated wood, and exposed brick as well as the industrial aluminum windows, exposed concrete, porcelain, and stone are the materials used to reinforce the idea of materiality and integration with the grounds.
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