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Casa San Francisco
Casa San Francisco
Cuenca, Ecuador
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Casa San Francisco
Cuenca, Ecuador
Type
STATUS
Built
YEAR
2017
SIZE
5000 sqft - 10,000 sqft
BUDGET
$100K - 500K
Photos
Architectural rehabilitation of a building of heritage value located in the Plaza San Francisco, in the historic center of the city of Cuenca, which for the most part, due to the expansion of the city has ceased to be a place for housing. This phenomenon has transformed the historic center into a commercial space and has left uninhabited a large part of the buildings that were originally designed as single-family dwellings.
From this situation arises the interest in recovering an underutilized building, through a modification to its initial architectural program. To this end, the commercial use is formalized on the first floor, through adjustments to the existing space, linked not only to the street but also to the internal courtyard as an articulator of spaces. The following floors incorporate the use of multi-family housing, reforming the large pre-existing spaces of the original single-family house, to accommodate different typological models of housing units.
The house is made up of two blocks built in different periods, showing the colonial style and the later period corresponding to the "Frenchification" of the city. The element that interrelates the complex is the central courtyard, around which the horizontal and vertical circulations of the building are distributed. This component has lost its importance with the various modifications that the building has undergone over time, which is why the project seeks the central courtyard's prominence, turning it into a space for interaction between the inhabitants of the new housing units and the activities carried out in the commercial area on the first floor.
Being a listed property with heritage value, one of the conditions of the project is to maintain the traditional construction systems. In accordance with the different stages in which the house was built, there are different construction techniques, such as adobe walls in the oldest part, and "giant brick" masonry in the most recent construction, both combined with wattle and daub walls and wooden structure in the upper floors. In addition to maintaining the traditional construction systems, the project enhances this condition and restores their value by working with exposed materiality, such as the removal of plaster and plastering, the prominence of wood and the use of handcrafted cladding such as fired brick and stone.
In summary, the project combines a sample of the construction techniques of vernacular architecture, the historical value of the context and the integration of new uses and requirements as a proposal for the recovery of underutilized buildings and thus the reactivation of the historic center of the city through housing.
From this situation arises the interest in recovering an underutilized building, through a modification to its initial architectural program. To this end, the commercial use is formalized on the first floor, through adjustments to the existing space, linked not only to the street but also to the internal courtyard as an articulator of spaces. The following floors incorporate the use of multi-family housing, reforming the large pre-existing spaces of the original single-family house, to accommodate different typological models of housing units.
The house is made up of two blocks built in different periods, showing the colonial style and the later period corresponding to the "Frenchification" of the city. The element that interrelates the complex is the central courtyard, around which the horizontal and vertical circulations of the building are distributed. This component has lost its importance with the various modifications that the building has undergone over time, which is why the project seeks the central courtyard's prominence, turning it into a space for interaction between the inhabitants of the new housing units and the activities carried out in the commercial area on the first floor.
Being a listed property with heritage value, one of the conditions of the project is to maintain the traditional construction systems. In accordance with the different stages in which the house was built, there are different construction techniques, such as adobe walls in the oldest part, and "giant brick" masonry in the most recent construction, both combined with wattle and daub walls and wooden structure in the upper floors. In addition to maintaining the traditional construction systems, the project enhances this condition and restores their value by working with exposed materiality, such as the removal of plaster and plastering, the prominence of wood and the use of handcrafted cladding such as fired brick and stone.
In summary, the project combines a sample of the construction techniques of vernacular architecture, the historical value of the context and the integration of new uses and requirements as a proposal for the recovery of underutilized buildings and thus the reactivation of the historic center of the city through housing.
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