Casa Patios: an architecture made of soil and eucalyptus within and under the ecuadorian countryside

The design input by RAMA Estudio is to create an architectural element fused with the surroundings, which does not represent an environmental obstacle to the landscape and vegetation

The solid stone walls support the two pitches of the sloping roof, which start from the ground level and as they rise they carry the vegetation with them as a continuation of the ground. The "C" shaped stone walls contain the most private areas of the house; an array of services (bathrooms, storage, technical rooms) is placed in the area where the roof becomes lower and it functions as an insulating chamber for the rooms and for the auxiliary areas such as TV room and playroom.

The "social area" unites the two parts of the house housed under the two green wings of the roof: a transparent space, which also physically and visually connects the two outdoor courtyards. This central space is the meeting area of all the spaces. A high, clear and flexible space, limited only by two wooden walls that separate it from the surrounding spaces (kitchen and TV room). This area of the house, defined as a social area, is where the main source of heat is located, and that is the fireplace

The construction technique chosen by RAMA estudio and used for most of the house walls is the vernacular raw clay and wood called bahareque, which improves the thermal and acoustic conditions of the building and at the same time helps to blend it with the landscape. The roof, on the other hand, consists of metal "trays" which contain 25 cm of stone insulation and soil for planting.
Casa Patios succeeds in being a project which blends seamlessly into the environment, a project which does not stand out on the ground, where vegetation prevails over the built area, a landscape strategy which rules the entire area on which it stands