House with Terraces by RAMA Estudio in Cotopaxi, Ecuador

Project: House with Terraces
Architects: RAMA Estudio
Location: Lasso, Cotopaxi, Ecuador
Area: 3605 sq ft
Year: 2019
Photography: Jag Studio

House with Terraces by RAMA Estudio

The house with terraces is a stunning modern home located in the heart of nature in Ecuador. More precisely, it is situated in the Lasso area of Cotopaxi province on a plot surrounded by beautiful forested surroundings. This family home was designed by RAMA Estudio, whose work has already been featured in our review of their Mirador House project.

The house is located in the Cotopaxi province, in the Lasso area. The plot is part of the Rancho San Jose district in the middle of rural countryside. The brief was for a family residence designed to enjoy the countryside, farming, landscapes and environment. The proposal takes into account some implementation and operational conditions. A modest architecture was proposed, almost invisible, made from raw and natural materials. The heavy structure, built into the ground and nearly disappearing in its surroundings, yet still part of it.

The house was designed as an element buried in the ground, modest and not presenting obstacles on the plot. The walls of solid stone are responsible for holding the sloped roof, which begins at ground level and rises, containing vegetation as a continuation of the landscape. The stone walls in a 'C' shape, offset for functional reasons, contain private and technical zones. The service corridor (bathroom, storerooms, technical rooms) at the lower part of the space serves as a thermal chamber for living rooms and auxiliary rooms such as the TV and game room. The social area connects two parts of the house through a transparent space that physically and visually links the two courtyards. This central space is the meeting point of all rooms. A spacious, clean and flexible space, limited only by two independent wooden walls on each side separating it from surrounding spaces (kitchen and TV room). This part of the house, defined as a social area, contains the main heat source — a fireplace.

Each room of the house is bounded by panels of bahareque and a supporting structure made from solid eucalyptus wood. Bahareque improves the thermal and acoustic properties of the house, while its texture and color enhance the intention to create a modest object in the landscape. All external boundaries of the house are formed by a series of collaborating columns made from solid eucalyptus wood, creating bahareque panels or glass screens that allow light penetration, communication passage and entry to the house.

Regarding the roof, it develops on two sections above the stone walls. The roof layouts consist of metal trays measuring 10 meters and 12 meters in length with a thickness of 4 mm, which allows accommodating 25 cm of thermal stone material and soil for sufficient plant growth above the house. This roof also connects both sides of the plot, as it can be walked on and used to cross from one side to the other.

The roof also extends to the only open covered space in the house, creating an area for barbecuing directly linked to the kitchen and open to the main courtyard. The intermediate slab, accessible surface, was calculated as a mixed structure supporting wooden and metal beams that also serve as the base for the transparent roof above entrances.

From the beginning, a modest concept was proposed that fits into its surroundings without standing out on the ground where vegetation predominates over built areas. This landscape strategy manages the entire area, implying that the landscape surrounds the house. Vegetation starts from the ground and grows above the house through the roof, overflowing and falling, covering the stone walls. Between these two vegetative zones, two courtyards open up, creating green zones within the house through glass screens. The courtyards, raised with abundant vegetation in the area, intrude and form micro-landscapes visible only from inside.

Surrounding the house is a series of vegetative filters creating a path to the house. Trees, shrubs and various types of coverings distinguish areas around the house and guide views, entrances and routes.

–RAMA Estudio