to provide the ecuadorian community of guadurnal with dining areas, the local architecture practice al borde has reused the exhibition pavilions from the united nations housing conference into a structure of two spaces. to prevent the damage from the floods — because of which the water sometimes reaches the level of 2 meters above the ground — the architects have elevated the house on functional legs featuring playful nets for the kids and shadowed area for the gatherings.

al borde + taller general elevate a lunchroom using functional legs in suburban ecuadorian community
the mural tells the story of the community after the earthquake

 

 

after the earthquake in 2016, taller general, al borde’s partner in this project, started to technically assist the community of guadurnal, so the studio had a very good idea of the necessities of that community. the architects took advantage of the shadow, that is vital in coastal regions, to generate a meeting place, so they placed a couple of nets under the structure. this gave the space a playful character, not only for the kids but also for the adults.

al borde + taller general elevate a lunchroom using functional legs in suburban ecuadorian community
the lunchroom is part of the public space of the community land

 

 

the project rapidly became iconic for the community, and its members decided to give the sugar cane walls a new cement covering. david sur, the urban artist and graphic designer of taller general, took charge of the mural which now tells the story of the community.

al borde + taller general elevate a lunchroom using functional legs in suburban ecuadorian community

 

al borde + taller general elevate a lunchroom using functional legs in suburban ecuadorian community
the ground floor as playground under the shade

 

al borde + taller general elevate a lunchroom using functional legs in suburban ecuadorian community
the main entrance between the two structure

 

al borde + taller general elevate a lunchroom using functional legs in suburban ecuadorian community

 

al borde + taller general elevate a lunchroom using functional legs in suburban ecuadorian community

 

al borde + taller general elevate a lunchroom using functional legs in suburban ecuadorian community
infonavit pavilion, UN habitat III, quito-ecuador 2016

 

al borde + taller general elevate a lunchroom using functional legs in suburban ecuadorian community
concept drawing of the reuse of the pavilion

 

al borde + taller general elevate a lunchroom using functional legs in suburban ecuadorian community
workshops with the guadurnal’s community

 

al borde + taller general elevate a lunchroom using functional legs in suburban ecuadorian community
participative construction: community, volunteers, taller general staff and al borde staff

 

al borde + taller general elevate a lunchroom using functional legs in suburban ecuadorian community
the lunchroom next to the prefab school built by the state after the earthquake

 

project info:

 

architects: al borde + taller general

collaboration: elise ytterstad, laura ardizzone, marialaura colagero & caatarina mateus

engineering: mathieu lamour

design: 2017

construction: al borde + taller general + comunidad de guadurnal, 2018

mural: david sur

illustration: carlos valarezo

location: guadurnal, esmeraldas, ecuador

community: board 2015-2017, board 2017-2019, martha ortiz correa teacher of the 6 de mayo school & parents board of the school

supported by: infonavit

design of the infonavit habitat III pavilion: la metropolitana

construction of the infonavit habitat III pavilion: turicom

photography: jag studio, carlos cuenca, taller general, al borde

 

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

 

edited by: maria erman | designboom