A series of gabled, brickwork volumes arranged around a grassy courtyard form this house in Guayaquil, Ecuador, designed by Chilean firm Felipe Assadi Arquitectos.
Casa El Cortijo is a one-storey residence in Guayaquil, Ecuador, a port city known for its accessibility to the Galapagos Islands.

Felipe Assadi Arquitectos constructed the house as a series of volumes that are almost entirely made of bricks ? including the pitched rooftops that create numerous peaks.
The segmented arrangement is used to divide up the functions of the residence.

"The divisions between adjacent domestic spaces are marked by separate rooftops and projections on the continuous facade," said the firm, which likens the layout to a miniature version of Guayaquil. "Thus, they can be read as independent units belonging to a single system," it added. "Exactly like in the centre of the city."

"The typology reflects the configuration on a different scale, of a typical city block in central Guayaquil, with back-to-back constructions occupying the perimeter and generating patios on the interior," it added.

The volumes are joined together in four different sections that form a square around a large grassy courtyard, patio and swimming pool. Glass walls with gabled tops front each the volumes to offer views into this outdoor space.

"The spaces of the house are articulated around a square central patio," said the studio. "The patio connects all of the s...