Observatory Reform Cóndor Huachana

Observatory Reform Cóndor Huachana
© Andrés Villota Pelusa

Observatory Reform Cóndor Huachana

La cabina de la curiosidad - Daniel Moreno Flores + Marie Combette

YEAR
2019

ENGINEERING
Patricio Cevallos

CONSTRUCTION
Luis Ramos, Rene Cuenca

CATEGORY
Residential Interiors

DESIGN TEAM
Daniel Moreno Flores, Marie Combette, Pablo Betancourt

DRAWING
Marie Combette

CLIENTS
Pilar Flores, Michael Blanchard

ILLUSTRATION
Paulina Flores

LOCATION
Quito, Ecuador

Text description provided by architect.

This is a project of a basic quotidian approach - to renew the roof of the house due to its severe deterioration and its potential danger.

Observatory Reform Cóndor Huachana
© Andrés Villota Pelusa
Observatory Reform Cóndor Huachana
© Andrés Villota Pelusa

For us, this reason has been a great opportunity for transformation, to contribute to the quality of life of the occupants of the house.

We understood that in addition to changing the roof, we could modify the spaces that are peripherally located and linked to the roof.

Observatory Reform Cóndor Huachana
© Andrés Villota Pelusa
Observatory Reform Cóndor Huachana
© Andrés Villota Pelusa

This is a situation that we have taken full advantage of, magnifying and amplifying the relationship of users with their environment.

The client has a close relationship with nature, and in her artistic practice, she has developed her work around the mountains, the sea, the air, etc.

Observatory Reform Cóndor Huachana
© Andrés Villota Pelusa
Observatory Reform Cóndor Huachana
© Andrés Villota Pelusa

Knowing this, it has been vitally important for us to pay tribute to this relationship in the completion of this roofing project.

In this way, we can talk about the territory and the place we live in. Quito is a city inserted in a great mountainous landscape - the Pichinchas - and it has adapted to the slopes of the Andes.

Observatory Reform Cóndor Huachana
© Andrés Villota Pelusa
Observatory Reform Cóndor Huachana
© Andrés Villota Pelusa

At an overwhelming speed, the city has grown and grown, forgetting this very special geographical situation.

Pilar, the client, has always drawn one of the Pichinchas, Condor Huachana, always in the same position, focusing and valuing this mountain.

With a colour pencil technique, she has recorded a collection of mountains that have been made at different times, marking the changes in light and the different temporalities.

Observatory Reform Cóndor Huachana
© Andrés Villota Pelusa
Observatory Reform Cóndor Huachana
© Andrés Villota Pelusa

Understanding this, the proposed architecture is the intensification of the Condor Huachana mountain, the relationship of the house with the eastern mountain range, the Pichinchas and the snowy Cotopaxi.

We have made four territorial connections.

Observatory Reform Cóndor Huachana
© Andrés Villota Pelusa
Observatory Reform Cóndor Huachana
© Andrés Villota Pelusa

The first is a periscope from the entrance to the house on the upper floor. Just by looking up one focuses on the Condor Huachana, it is inside the house, it is part of daily life.

Taking advantage of the modification of the roof, the space of the main room was changed, creating a double-height space made of plywood and making an opening on one of the sides of the roof complemented by a high desk that allows working directly with the mountain.

The storage space that has had a direct connection with the roof and has always been a relegated space, was made into a containing nest with an incision that generates a link with the mountain. Now it is a living space that can be used for storage.

Observatory Reform Cóndor Huachana
© Andrés Villota Pelusa
Observatory Reform Cóndor Huachana
© Andrés Villota Pelusa

On the rooftop leisure spaces were designed, connecting the users with the territory and its different mountains.

Here, all the sunsets and sunrises can be registered. In this way, they can become a source of inspiration for new creations and daily gratifications for life.


Observatory Reform Cóndor Huachana
© Andrés Villota Pelusa
Observatory Reform Cóndor Huachana
© Andrés Villota Pelusa
Observatory Reform Cóndor Huachana
© Andrés Villota Pelusa
Observatory Reform Cóndor Huachana
© Andrés Villota Pelusa
Observatory Reform Cóndor Huachana
© Andrés Villota Pelusa
Observatory Reform Cóndor Huachana
© Andrés Villota Pelusa
Observatory Reform Cóndor Huachana
© Andrés Villota Pelusa
Observatory Reform Cóndor Huachana
© Andrés Villota Pelusa
Observatory Reform Cóndor Huachana
© Andrés Villota Pelusa
Observatory Reform Cóndor Huachana
© Andrés Villota Pelusa
Observatory Reform Cóndor Huachana
© Andrés Villota Pelusa
Observatory Reform Cóndor Huachana
© Andrés Villota Pelusa


Observatory Reform Cóndor Huachana
Observatory Reform Cóndor Huachana
Observatory Reform Cóndor Huachana