Bicubik Photography - Andres Fernández y Sebastián Crespo

OBJETIVO

The project sought to rehabilitate the existing building, recognizing its value as a part of the heritage complex of the historic center of the city, by highlighting its original typology. Additionally, the unbuilt area in the interior of the site was used to locate newly built spaces, as was required by the program.

The dialogue between the existing and the new areas was based on each one representing its own spatial possibilities, construction techniques and materials, while maintaining functional coherence and fluidity. As was precisely stated by the Quito Biennale: “There are three clear levels of intervention (...): in the exterior it is not perceptible, in the interior the existing is respected and redeemed, and, lastly, the new is built. These levels of intervention allow the project to take distance from its heritage condition and, at the same time, make it stand out.”

For the exterior character of the building, the project contemplated to showcase the traditional stone and brick masonry construction techniques and keep the original shape and character of the roof. In the interior, the traditional patio was reinterpreted by maintaining a single floor level and providing shade, looking for spatial integration with the perimeter areas.

The junction between the old and the new buildings seeked to articulate a dialogue of materials and spaces around a brick arcade, while finding opportunities for natural lighting, ventilation and interior vegetation. Similar strategies are applied in the newly built area where small patios also allow to transform the space around them.

CONTEXTO

CACMU Building is located in the historic center of Ibarra, a medium-sized city in the Northern Ecuadorian Andes. The immediate views are mostly dominated by the domes and towers of the local churches, while the distant landscape is characterized by the hills and mountains of this region. The climate is temperate with moderate rains in the months of December to April.

The site is within a heritage listed area with buildings from the republican period, mostly built with earthen supporting walls, wooden roof structure and spanish tiles as roofing, that revolve around a central interior courtyard; reminiscent of its Colonial past. However protected due to its heritage condition, pressure to develop and high land costs have caused the dismantling or demolition of many of the original buildings, puting the character and the built heritage of this part of the city at risk. Many of the surrounding constructions have been transformed to house office or commercial uses, with some residential use still remaining in the higher stories or inner patios.

Bustling with street vendors and passerbys, daily life goes by among students walking to their schools, buses honking their horns at traffic, office workers rushing to make it home for lunch and the smell of fumes from roasted cow tripe being sold on a street corner.