Beach Breezes Blow Right Through This Ecuadorian House on Stilts
Supported by teak wood pillars, this permeable home in Villamil, Ecuador, takes advantage of a coastal climate.
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.
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As its name suggests, the house rests upon wooden stilts, which passively cools the interiors.
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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.
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The home resides in Villamil, a satellite city of Guayaquil with a population of 33,560.
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On the other side of the ground level, next to the brick-enclosed communal area, is a resting space with hammocks for lounging.
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From the dining and kitchen space, concrete stairs lead up to the upper level.
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The dining and kitchen areas take up one side of the ground level.
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In 1982, UNESCO declared the beaches of General Villamil as having the second-best climate in the world.
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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.
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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.
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The communal area is fitted with wooden sliding doors, which open to connect the space seamlessly with the surrounding garden.
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The horizontal silhouette is opened up by a system of teak wood pillars that support the main walls and wood slat-and-zinc roof.
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"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.
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Core transversal drawing
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Front elevation drawing
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Longitudinal section drawing
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Project Credits:
Architect, builder, structural engineer and landscape designer: Natura Futura Arquitectura
Photographer: JAG Studio
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