Built in the late eighteenth century, at first sight the house gave the impression of not being useful at all. It had only one-floor plan, the brick floor was broken, the eighty square meters were dark and cold, and the wood roof structure was rotten. Only the earth walls seemed able to be refurbish, which at first glance they did not look so bad at all.

House of the Flying Beds, La Esperanza, Ibarra, Ecuador, 2017. Architects David Barragán, Pascual Gangotena, Maríaluisa Borja and Esteban Benavides (authors) / Al Borde
Foto divulgación / disclosure image [Al Borde]

House of the Flying Beds, La Esperanza, Ibarra, Ecuador, 2017. Architects David Barragán, Pascual Gangotena, Maríaluisa Borja and Esteban Benavides (authors) / Al Borde
Foto divulgación / disclosure image [Al Borde]

The family does not seek for privacy: kitchen, living, dining, and bathroom are for communal use. Almost public because the project is thought to receive visitors and friends all the time. In this house for all, the private space is reduced to the bed of each one of the members of the family.

The final finishes of the completed work are almost the same as they were there in eighteenth century. The refurbish actions are a few and strategic: structural walls are reinforced, rammed earth is treated, doors and windows that were in poor condition are changed, and the floor is polish concrete.

House of the Flying Beds, La Esperanza, Ibarra, Ecuador, 2017. Architects David Barragán, Pascual Gangotena, Maríaluisa Borja and Esteban Benavides (authors) / Al Borde
Foto divulgación / disclosure image [Al Borde]

House of the Flying Beds, La Esperanza, Ibarra, Ecuador, 2017. Architects David Barragán, Pascual Gangotena, Maríaluisa Borja and Esteban Benavides (authors) / Al Borde
Foto divulgación / disclosure image [Al Borde]

The project demands a new roof, so we take advantage of this action and solve the bedrooms too. A new upper bond beam connects the walls. Over it, eucalyptus trusses were installed each meter and fifty-five centimeters. Between each truss there is a bed, in total three pairs of habitable trusses were assembled.

It was impossible to reuse the roof tiles; their poor condition turned them into patio backfill material. The roof is solved with shingles of old tires and a ridge of recycled glass that swallows light, heats and illuminates the interior.

House of the Flying Beds, isometric perspective, La Esperanza, Ibarra, Ecuador, 2017. Architects David Barragán, Pascual Gangotena, Maríaluisa Borja and Esteban Benavides (authors) / Al Borde
Imagén divulgación / disclosure image [Al Borde]

data sheet

building
House of the Flying Beds

site
La Esperanza, Ibarra, Ecuador

year
Project: 2015
Building: 2017

architecture
Architects David Barragán, Pascual Gangotena, Maríaluisa Borja and Esteban Benavides (authors); Charlotte Vaxelaire (collaborator) / Al Borde

construction management
José Guerrero

structural engineering
Patricio Cevallos and Mathieu Lamour

construction
Builder Miguel Ramos, Enobra and Edison Marcial

photo
Jag Studio y Al Borde