Beach Breezes Blow Right Through This Ecuadorian House on Stilts
In Ecuador’s beach city of Villamil in Guayas Province, Stilts House taps into the flexible layout and passive cooling techniques of traditional coastal homes to create a breezy, minimalist dwelling that celebrates the local environment and lifestyle. Measuring 1,722 square feet, this two-story residence was designed and built by Los Ríos–based Natura Futura Arquitectura.
As its name suggests, the house rests upon wooden stilts, which passively cools the interiors.
Tall, slender teak trunks are secured to the ground with the weight of adobe bricks—a material that’s commonly used in the area—to support the walls and roof.
The home resides in Villamil, a satellite city of Guayaquil with a population of 33,560.
On the other side of the ground level, next to the brick-enclosed communal area, is a resting space with hammocks for lounging.
From the dining and kitchen space, concrete stairs lead up to the upper level.
The dining and kitchen areas take up one side of the ground level.
In 1982, UNESCO declared the beaches of General Villamil as having the second-best climate in the world.
By applying principles of sustainable design and utilizing traditional architectural features, Natura Futura Arquitectura managed to optimize resources and create a home than exists in symbiosis with its tropical climate and surroundings.
On one side of the ground floor is a communal area, enclosed on two sides with brick walls.
Except for the sheltering roof and horizontal wooden rails around the upper floor, half of this top level is almost completely exposed to take advantage of the pleasant, tropical weather.
The communal area is fitted with wooden sliding doors, which open to connect the space seamlessly with the surrounding garden.
The horizontal silhouette is opened up by a system of teak wood pillars that support the main walls and wood slat-and-zinc roof.
"The material, the architectural program of the project, highlighted with different logics of implementation of brick, provides privacy and permeability," says Natura Futura Arquitectura founder Jose Fernando Gomez.
Core transversal drawing
Front elevation drawing
Longitudinal section drawing
Project Credits:
Architect, builder, structural engineer and landscape designer: Natura Futura Arquitectura
Photographer: JAG Studio
Published
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