Ecuador has a coastal city with the second best climate in the world. The architecture knows it.
Casa Zancos sits in Villamil Playas, a former fishing port on the Pacific coast. Instead of sealing the house against the heat, Natura Futura opened it up. Raw timber poles. Fired brick walls. Louvred wooden shutters instead of glass windows.
That last decision is the one worth studying.
The chazas, traditional louvred panels regulate airflow and shade without mechanical intervention. No AC dependency. No glass trapping heat. The building breathes because the envelope was designed to breathe.
The brick here isn’t decorative. It’s thermal mass working alongside natural ventilation, absorbing heat during the day, releasing it at night. Two materials. Zero imported climate logic.
This is what it looks like when architects listen to a place instead of building over it.
📍Casa Zancos, Villamil Playas, Ecuador. Architects: Natura Futura.
📷 JAG Studio
Todo lo que construimos, proviene de la Tierra,podría nuestro entorno construido reflejar la inteligencia de los sistemas naturales, donde nada se desperdicia y tiene un propósito?
The Built Environment reimagined: What trees can teach us about design https://t.co/HxURBswZrR