LB Design Eco-efficient Building | technology meets sustainability

The LB building in Quito, Ecuador, houses local commercial activities on the lower floors and apartments on the upper levels. An extraordinary example of eco-efficiency, so much so that it has been taken as a reference by the Municipality for its integral design and has received an Honorable Mention in Eco-efficient Design from the Metropolitan Environmental Distinction Sustainable Quito 2020.

Towards a sustainable architecture

In Ecuador, concrete structures with masonry walls represent the main construction typology despite being polluting and proving to be the most dangerous in case of earthquakes due to the collapse of infills. In the South American state, the only minimum sustainability objectives are set by a 2016 regulation of the city of Quito aimed at intensifying urban density in exchange for an eco-efficient construction based on three parameters: reduction of water consumption, energy efficiency, and environmental contributions, landscape, and technological aspects.
The third parameter of the regulation provides relevant indications on the resistance and safety of the construction with dry lightweight walls in case of earthquakes.

A building linked to the natural environment and constructed

The professionals at arquitectura x, a studio specialized in sustainable architecture projects, have the constant practice of reducing the environmental impact of construction in addition to conceiving architectures as systems intrinsically linked to their natural and constructed environment: this happens in the project for the residential building LB

Fragmentary Composition

Technique and construction materials are applied in relation to the environment in which the building is constructed, as support and mediators for the integration of the project. This results in the elimination of formal predetermination, in favor of fragmentation of the building into subsystems: its components and the rules that connect them. For architectural composition, the Studio is inspired by mosaic murals created by the modern Ecuadorian artist Jaime Andrade Moscoso in Quito: the use of diagonals that break the orthogonality and compose spaces, figures, and the interplay of light and shadow.

Diagonal Fragmentation Strategy

For the LB building, the diagonal fragmentation strategy stems from the need to work with efficient orthogonal grids, in contrast to the irregular shape of the plot, and becomes the applied geometric method to break the boundary between the apartments and the city landscape. The building is also perceived by the city as open and permeable due to the fragmented geometry and the construction system that uses 240 x 30 cm fiber cement siding panels as the main component, while the diagonal is inserted in plan and section.

Building Floor Plan and Recreational Spaces

The floor plan is organized around the central courtyard on the ground floor, with corresponding terraces on the upper floors and covered areas that open up to this space. The terraces facing the streets are essential to the geometric fragmentation strategy and to make the building permeable to its surroundings. Pool, central courtyard, gardens, barbecue areas, and social zones on the terrace are designed to encourage recreation within the building; the pool also serves as an emergency reservoir.

Gallery

Photo credits
Top image, content and gallery images: Bicubik, Sebastián Crespo, Andrés Fernández

Designers credits
Diseño y Supervisión: arquitectura x, Adrian Moreno, Maria Samaniego.
Santiago Armijos, Paula Cardenas, Chiara Stornaiolo, Macarena Reinoso.
Ecoeficiencia: ECODIVERCITY Carolina Proaño.
Cliente: INMOZLION S. A.
Construcción: Marcelo Lara Ing.
Ingeniero Estructural: Juan Carlos Garcés

Companies credits
Fibrocemento: PLYCEM
Estructura de acero: DEACERO
Steel framing y Drywall: DECOR GYPSUM
Pisos, Muebles de cocinas y baños, puertas y closets: CARPINTEX
Artefactos de baño y cocina: FV
Acabados cerámicos en pisos y paredes: HOME VEGA, FV, GRAIMAN
Aluminio, acero y vidrio: HG ALUMINIO Y VIDRIO, CEDAL
Equipos, sistemas y accesorios eléctricos: OCTANS
Equipos y sistemas hidrosanitarios y calentamiento de agua: HIDROSISTEM

PEOPLE

Arquitectura X

Quito, Ecuador