2022
MCHAP
Centro Comunitario Productivo Las Tejedoras
Natura Futura
Chongón, Guayas, Ecuador
March 2023
AUTOR PRINCIPAL
José Fernando Gómez Marmolejo (Designer, Founder of Natura Futura), Juan Carlos Bamba (Designer, founder of Juan Carlos Bamba)
AUTOR CONTRIBUYENTE
Andrea Ollague (Management), Young Living Foundation (Promotor)
CLIENTE
Young Living Foundation - Andrea Ollague
FOTÓGRAFO
JAG Studio
OBJETIVO
The project was seeking to be an integrative space for a big group of seawing womens that, until then,were not able to develop their productive activities in a proper space that could express their identity and desires in a sustainable way. This is how,patio with endemic vegetation is proposed as a meeting and exhibition place that is contained by two side naves and a central one; one contains theoretical training classrooms, cafeteria and hygienic services; the other, practical learning workshops, sleeping space, warehouses and a store to sell the products developed in the central nave where the artisan fabrics are made and sold. The main front is a production-exhibition gallery that acts as a filter for the patio and as an element to generate urbanity towards the street. Teak wood, traditionally used as a structure of the old stilt houses around the area, is used for the main structure. For the wall, local bricks were used, presenting a herringbone pattern which are stiffened by the very shape of the interlocked walls. For the natural illumination and ventilation wooden folding lattice doors are used to control them, working also as a link between the exterior and interior. This, focused on a low energetic consumption, having in mind the high humidity and temperatures in the area.
CONTEXTO
On a large scale, the project is placed close to an urban development from the municipality of Guayaquil. During the construction process 180 hectares of dry tropical forest were cut down. The project is expressed as a criticism of such residential development by incorporating endemic vegetation that manages to reveal new possibilities of environmentally conscious architectures, with the intention of encouraging debate towards the generation of public policies aligned with the SDG (sustainable development goals).
On a smaller scale the Young Living Foundation is dedicated to generate programs that promote the potential of communities through education and entrepreneurship. In 2009, it opened the Young Living Academy to provide education for around 150 low-income children whose mothers are part of the local productive workshops. In tandem, the organization for craftswomen Las Bromelias was formed, focused on development through handmade fabrics with natural fibers. Over time, the number of members in the group grew steadily, which led to the need for a new space. In this context, the Foundation reaches Natura Futura and Juan Carlos Bamba to develop a Community Productive Center.
ACTUACIÓN
Since 2023, the project has been used as an opportunity to train and insert members, through planting and fibers production workshops that help to strengthen local and environmental development. The number of The Bromelias weaving group has increased during the last year, introducing women from the nearby towns who perceive themselves in the same conditions and the original group; increasing the economic and social impact of the project.
Regarding the central patio of the project, and its bioclimatic goal, at the beginning of the design process, an intense research was made about the types of endemic plants that could give them lowest maintenance and were easy to get. This is how local trees and plants like guarumos, guadelias, bijaos and heliconias were introduced in the project. After one year it was identified that this species are working in perfect symbiosis, bringing back insects and birds that were evicted due to the nearby constructions. Also, the perceived temperature inside of the classrooms and workshops had decreased thanks to the shadow of the guarumo´s canopy.
Now, more often, cultural and community events and workshops are taking place in Las Tejedoras, promoting the respectful use of resources, the value of nature and the empowerment of women artisan handicraft for the better of an equal community.
