Convento House / Enrique Mora Alvarado

Situated in the countryside of Ecuador, the Convento House designed, by Enrique Mora Alvarado, near a dense bamboo plantation terrain emotes the closeness of nature with humankind. Surveying the site, amidst fresh and thriving green shrubs, bamboo shoots, and moist earth, the realistic visual satiates the eye with an impeccable delight for nature. In other words, the spatial relation and the site stand interrelated and enhance the functional ability of the house.

In this project, like many others, cost constraints posed a huge challenge to the design. On the contrary, the availability of bamboo ensured the design a greater stability and strength to the structural formwork of the house. Consecutively, the design of the structure stands based on the interwoven ties between the bamboo joints and co-jointly built by help of the local community.

Built from 1000 bamboo shoots, the barks of old and dried trees clad the inner panels of the house, thus preventing the entry of water and insects from the house. Equally, the bamboo shoots underwent a treatment of seasoning and curing, which improved the strength and rigidity of the structure. In other words, the time for curing took longer than the construction phase, and hence, every other preceding arrangement was duly taken care before the commencing of the construction work.

Moreover, the construction techniques look elaborate without much detailing and left untouched by chemical fasteners, bolts, and paints. These variations in design ideas and concept evolving from former prototype buildings are applicable for modern day structures and easy to construct in a short span of time.

Much of the traditional aspects of an Ecuador house are met by the house raised on stilts, with rooms for sleeping, dining, cooking, and living. Besides that, division between the open porch, public and privates spaces stands essentially portrayed in a clutter-free manner. On the whole, the hammock-like home standing amidst the tall bamboo shoots is nature’s paradise.

Photos By:- Enrique Mora Alvarado