Glass and cement suspended between the sky and the Cordillera

A sparsely shaped architecture set in the Andes perceptively captures the surrounding landscape, offering flexible and functional living spaces.

Edwin Hurtado + Holger Cuadrado, Casa D4, Loja, Ecuador 2020. Foto: Juan Alberto Andrade (JAGstudio) Edwin Hurtado + Holger Cuadrado, Casa D4, Loja, Ecuador 2020. Foto: Juan Alberto Andrade (JAGstudio)

Edwin Hurtado + Holger Cuadrado, Casa D4, Loja, Ecuador 2020 site plan

Edwin Hurtado + Holger Cuadrado, Casa D4, Loja, Ecuador 2020 plans

Edwin Hurtado + Holger Cuadrado, Casa D4, Loja, Ecuador 2020 basement plan

Edwin Hurtado + Holger Cuadrado, Casa D4, Loja, Ecuador 2020 ground floor plan

Edwin Hurtado + Holger Cuadrado, Casa D4, Loja, Ecuador 2020 first floor plan

Edwin Hurtado + Holger Cuadrado, Casa D4, Loja, Ecuador 2020 sections

Edwin Hurtado + Holger Cuadrado, Casa D4, Loja, Ecuador 2020 North elevation

Edwin Hurtado + Holger Cuadrado, Casa D4, Loja, Ecuador 2020 East elevation

Edwin Hurtado + Holger Cuadrado, Casa D4, Loja, Ecuador 2020 variable layouts

Edwin Hurtado + Holger Cuadrado, Casa D4, Loja, Ecuador 2020 axonometry

Edwin Hurtado + Holger Cuadrado, Casa D4, Loja, Ecuador 2020 exploded axonometry

Edwin Hurtado + Holger Cuadrado, Casa D4, Loja, Ecuador 2020 technological section

Edwin Hurtado + Holger Cuadrado, Casa D4, Loja, Ecuador 2020 sketch

Edwin Hurtado + Holger Cuadrado, Casa D4, Loja, Ecuador 2020 model

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Chiara Testoni
24 November 2021
Loja, Ecuador
Edwin Hurtado + Holger Cuadrado
595 sqm
residential
2020

Casa D4, located on a hill at 2,300 m above sea level, stands as a "hinge" between the powerful landscape of the low Ecuadorian Andes behind it and the valley below, which embraces the city of Loja at an altitude of 2,100 m: from this privileged panoramic position, the building intercepts unconditional views and perspectives, standing like a totemic form radiating with natural light on all sides.

The building, designed by the duo Edwin Hurtado + Holger Cuadrado, is characterised by a volume of exposed reinforced concrete articulated in structural "boxes" corresponding to the various floors, recalling brutalism in its essential forms and the raw authenticity of concrete, the only material in the composition chosen for both the load-bearing elements - pillars, ribbed slabs, masonry - and the finishes.

Edwin Hurtado + Holger Cuadrado, Casa D4, Loja, Ecuador 2020. Photo Holger Cuadrado

The presence of only four support points, with spans of 7.15 m and cantilevered beams of 4.70 m, gives the interior space considerable planimetric freedom and functional variability, according to the future needs of users who may require different functions other than residential: this is how the flexible sanitary units are conceived, permitting adaptation of the distribution layout, as well as the possibility of compartmentalising the individual floors for independent use by replicating the external staircase.

Edwin Hurtado + Holger Cuadrado, Casa D4, Loja, Ecuador 2020. Photo Holger Cuadrado

The overhangs of the volumes and terraces stretching out towards the landscape denote the expressive force of gravity in the composition, so that the concrete and glass masses seem to float in contrast with their heavy, powerful configuration. Almost as if to indicate that architecture is a matter of simple rules: a structure that is also a straightforward figurative expression and that encloses an interior space free of preconditions.

Casa D4
Edwin Hurtado + Holger Cuadrado
Loja, Ecuador
2020
Famiglia Hurtado Jaramillo
gica_ingenieros, Carlos Aguilar, Ximena Saavedra
Jefferson Condoy, Joffre Calva, José Luis Castillo, Daniel Cabrera, Jonathan Jiménez

Edwin Hurtado + Holger Cuadrado, Casa D4, Loja, Ecuador 2020. Foto: Juan Alberto Andrade (JAGstudio)