Mike's Study

Quito, Ecuador

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Mike's Study

Quito, Ecuador

Type

Residential › Private House

YEAR

2011

Estudio Mike
(Taller-Vivienda)
Mike's Study obtained the National Honorable Mention for Restoration and Recycling in the XVIII Pan-American Architecture Biennale of Quito in 2012.--Margarita and I began rehabilitating the space, inviting a group of friends to help. The idea was to renovate the house with our own hands at first.
We decided to jump in and enjoy this first stage of construction, enjoying work with the hammer, climbing up on the ladder, or simply taking off the gummy glue. This attitude was not solely to make the work enjoyable, but also affordable. Due to the lack of economic resources we had to devise a cost-effective strategy to create the architecture.

The work was performed at a low cost, designed to potentiate the use of recycled materials, and experiment with the limitations of the space available. We used specific rules, such as splitting the recycled wood to get more use out of it.
The slogan was:
Clean, remove and discover the reality of the materials we were working with. For example, if the wall is brick it is important to simplify and use that material, instead of masking it.
With the house stripped, we could begin renovating…
A - For the first exercise, we changed the timber doors into prefabricated formwork for the concrete system; We shaped, “C ”, parts, and rotated them to exponentially increase usability. The different positions allowed for a variety of furniture.
B - Applying the materials in new ways wooden floors became not only doors, but stairs, racks, new floor space, and a moving platform. The wooden beams became new forms serving many purposes, from floors, to walls, to ceilings, sometimes creating entire rooms.
C - We removed materials or made new openings, leaving behind dents and holes used to add character and individuality.
D - Another affordable material was the plywood. We bought it at half price from the factory, and they allowed us to take wood scraps as a gift. Using the free material, we were able to construct containers, shelves, tables, and even floors.
We sought an imperfect architecture ... Unfinished! An architecture where the constructive logic, contributes to the beauty of space.
The moving platform was a new form of hallway, removing the floor, but maintaining the path.
A walkway, which does not require walking for movement, which not only serves to move you, but provides you a new experience of the space as well.