Machachi is a small town located about thirty kilometres south of Quito, the capital of Ecuador. Lying in the heart of the Andes, it is surrounded by an imposing crown of volcanoes: Atacazo, Corazón, Rumiñahui, Illinizas, Viudita, Pasochoa and Sincholagua, and also Cotopaxi, one of the highest active volcanoes in the world, with an altitude of 5,897 metres.

This spectacular geography inspired the German naturalist Alexander von Humboldt, who in the early 19th century christened the region the “Avenues of volcanoes” (Vulkanstraße): a natural corridor lined with craters stretching southwards along Ecuador from Quito to Riobamba. It is precisely on the slopes of one of these volcanoes, at an altitude of more than 3,200 metres, that Casa El Pastizal stands, designed in 2023 by Diez + Muller Arquitectos, an Ecuadorian studio based in Tumbaco.

The new building fits into an almost unspoilt natural context enhanced through a careful insertion strategy. The architecture is fragmented, modelled according to the gentle slope of the mountain, establishing a relationship with the landscape and vegetation. The volume sits on the ground and emerges, as if carved into the earth, in search of distant views. 

In the same way as the German explorer, the visitor to the house gradually discovers the building: a path starting from the lowest level of the basement and ascending laterally, accompanies a progressive unveiling of the architecture. From a distance, one perceives only the vertical elements that stand out like ‘lookouts’ in the landscape; as one approaches, the house reveals itself in its articulation. The spatial experience is conceived as a dynamic sequence, where movement and the gaze merge in the observation of the surrounding landscape. The transition from one space to another is conceived as an emotional act, guided by light, views, and variations in scale.

The house is also a refuge, a cosy place, a living space immersed in nature. Internally, as on the outside, the design favours a contemplative mobility: circulations expand into pauses, invited by the play of light and shadow, by material imperfections that restore an unpolished, everyday and authentic beauty. The use of material responds to functional and expressive needs: a structure capable of following the topography of the mountain, supporting large amounts of earth on the roofs, accommodating vegetation that hides and adapts to the Andean climate. The load-bearing walls support main beams covering spans of up to 12 metres, defining a labyrinth of spaces that shrink and expand in a continuous dialogue between inside and outside, between artificial and natural. 

Casa El Pastizal demonstrates that architecture can confront extreme landscapes without imposing its presence. It’s a project that reflects on how to inhabit the land with sense and measure, adding a sign to the landscape without taking away its character.