丨厄瓜多尔丨TEC Taller EC

Architects:TEC - Taller EC

Area:520m²

Year:2025

Photographs:Lorena Darquea Schettini

Lead Architects:Pablo Castro Guijarro, Roberto Morales Guijarro

Category:Houses

Design Team:Juan Ruiz, Daniela Veintimilla, Paolo Caicedo

Technical Team:Cynthia Quintero, Daniela Ramos, Maria Emilia Arellano

Engineering And Consulting > Structural:Adstren

City:Puembo

Country:Ecuador

Text description provided by the architects. Casa Riba is located in the valley of Puembo, in the Andes mountain range, on a corner and curved lot. Its location and orientation were fundamental to its design, highlighting the presence of a carob tree at the center of the site, which became the conceptual axis of the project and the point from which the view of the city of Quito is framed.

With an area of 520 m² distributed over two levels, the house is organized as a bar that embraces and frames the tree, proposing an intimate reading of the spaces. From the first walk through the land, the carob tree marked the conceptual starting point: a house that is built from the inside out, where each area maintains a direct relationship with this natural element.

On the ground floor is the public area of the house, articulated around a central patio and with a direct relationship to the front street, seeking transparency and openness to the surroundings. On the upper level, the private spaces are oriented towards the mountain range, integrating with the Andean landscape through a terrace that extends the architectural experience towards the horizon.

The façade, light and permeable, enhances the curved shape of the volume with vertical elements that provide rhythm and unity to the whole. A large opening, strategically placed, indicates the main access and offers a visual pause that reinforces the contemplative character of the home.

Casa Riba is conceived as an architectural gesture that pays homage to the place, the tree, and the essential connection between the built material and nature.

Project gallery