Jorge Ramón Giacometti Taller de Arquitectura designed Casa Ocal to suit its hard-to-reach location in the mountains in the north of Ecuador.
The Ecuadorian architecture practice used eucalyptus wood and recycled metal for the gabled structure.
Casa Ocal is in the Ecuadorian Andes
Casa Ocal is raised on pilotis to allow rainwater to flow unobstructed down the hill beneath the house. The stilts also allowed for the creation of a level ground floor without any laborious and costly excavation.
Its gable end faces down the slope and is formed of a large covered porch that frames views of the mountains.
The house is raised on small stilts
Because of the difficulties presented by the location, the architects decided to whittle their design down to the simplest of forms and build it in a modular fashion. "We were asked to build a 110-square-metre house with a minimum budget, in a hard-to reach-place in the Ecuadorian mountains," said the studio.
"During the whole challenge, we tried to reduce the complexity of the construction system and minimise the amount of disruption."
Metal steps lead up to the front porch
Construction for Casa Ocal took just five months. The beams and joists are made of eucalyptus wood, a tree species that was originally brought over from Australia but now grows in Ecuador's tropical hills.
Eucalyptus was also used for the tongue and groove cladding around the exterior.
The porch is covered on three sides
Recycled metal was turned into t...