Slope House by El Sindicato Arquitectura steps down a Quito hillside

This home on the side of a hill in Ecuador was designed by El Sindicato Arquitectura to provide maximum privacy to its owners and their two daughters.

Located in the Cumbayá district of Quito, the Slope House project was completed for a family that wanted private living spaces, plenty of outdoor areas, and a home that would make the most of their views of the nearby Ilalo volcano.

Slope House steps down a hillside

The project encompasses 200 square metres, and was completed last year.

"As a conceptual strategy for the project, the required spaces were defined to be highly segregated as an answer to solve the independence need between them," said Quito-based firm El Sindicato Arquitectura.

"It was determined that all the spaces will be connected only by a path that follows the steep slope of the site at ground level," they added.

El Sindicato connected the volumes with a path

The single-storey house is broken into three blocks that step down the hillside, allowing for pockets of greenery to grow between them.

"Intermediate gardens let the users see without being seen, and have a physical or visual connection with the immediate exterior," said El Sindicato Arquitectura.

The living room leads to an exterior space

Guests and residents access the home from the top, where the architects included a living and dining room connected to an exterior space for hosting.

Here, there is an exterior staircase that leads to the roof, which forms a series of three terraces that correspond to the interior spaces below.

Brick also features inside the house

The central block contains the owner's bedroom and the kitchen, which was intended to be the heart of the home.

"The intermediate block receives the kitchen which is thought as the main space of the project as is the place where the family gets together for cooking, eating, working and spending time together," said the architects.

Read:

El Sindicato builds tiny Casa Parásito on a rooftop in Ecuador

Within the lowest point of the home are the two daughter's bedrooms, one of which has its own terrace, and the other a generously sized walk-in closet.

The architects explained that these differences in layout relate to each daughter's preferences.

"Both volumes have the same dimension, but are designed in a different way defined by their own living routines," said the architects.

The internal corridor is sealed with fully-glazed walls

The path connecting the various rooms is a combination of a corridor and staircase. Its walls are fully-glazed, offering views of the surrounding nature and mountainous setting.

This circulation is replicated on the rooftop, where a stepped walkway connects the three volumes. Effectively, the home has more exterior space than interior.

Concrete and brick are the main materials that comprise the structure

Concrete and brick are the main structural materials, and are visible both inside and out. "In this system, the role of the brick is at the same time as a formwork and exterior finish, and also as interior finish in some cases," El Sindicato Arquitectura explained.

Other projects in Ecuador include a home made of concrete and Eucalyptus wood by Bernardo Bustamante Arquitectos and a rural home by Al Borde that uses living trees as structural supports.

The photography is by Andrés Villota.

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Project credits:

Architecture office: El Sindicato Arquitectura
Team: Nicolás Viteri, María Mercedes Reinoso, Xavier Duque
Illustrations: El Sindicato Arquitectura, Laura Vaca

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Majoral Tissino Architects adds first-floor courtyard to refurbished Spanish home

Barcelona-based Majoral Tissino Architects has modernised a house in the historic Spanish village of Cruïlles, adding living spaces to the vaulted ground floor and creating a studio that opens onto a secluded terrace.

The refurbished building adjoins the clients' existing property, which Majoral Tissino Architects refurbished in 2013. Connecting the two buildings allowed new and expanded living spaces to be created.

Cruïlles 2 is a Spanish villa in Cruïlles that was designed by Majoral Tissino Architects

The house, which features stone load-bearing walls and a traditional tiled roof, is positioned at the junction of two narrow streets in the centre of the medieval village in Catalonia's Baix Empordà region.

Prior to the refurbishment, the property's interior comprised a sunken ground floor with a vaulted ceiling and an upper floor that was subdivided into several rooms. The studio was tasked with renovating and rearranging the spaces to better suit the owners' requirements.

The studio renovated and expanded the interior

"The brief was quite unusual as the first house already fulfilled all habitability requirements," the architects explained. "The new functional programme includes a broader living room, a studio open to a courtyard and a new room."

The project involved linking the two houses together on the ground floor through the creation of a new opening next to the stone outer wall.

It incorporated a number of staircases and steps

This passage leads into a living space with a vaulted ceiling that spans the entire width of the building. The room is divided into different zones by a cast-concrete construction incorporating various levels, steps and podiums.

A U-shaped seating area on one side is sunken slightly below the main floor and faces a plinth supporting the television. Steps ascend to a cocktail area with a floor-level fireplace positioned beneath a concrete arch.

Steps were constructed using concrete and have a stone look

The corridor that extends through the space is angled inward slightly away from the stone wall and is mirrored by a curved panel added to the ceiling that helps to emphasise the gradual widening of the room.

"The concrete topography is broadened diagonally to produce a 'prospectic' cone," said the studio, "expressed in the vault's unique finish and opening towards the stair cluster allowing access to the upper floor."

Read:

Sara Acebes Anta completes Spanish villa with pared-back colour palette

The concrete switchback staircase at the end of the living area incorporates an arched section that echoes the form of the ceiling.

A new window added to the west elevation allows natural light to reach the circulation area and the living space, which previously only received light from two small, north-facing windows.

A staircase leads to the upper level

Another window on the opposite side of the room introduces light from a patio between the two houses. The new opening is set behind an angular frame described by the architects as an 'embrasure', which is traditionally a bevelled opening in a wall or parapet.

The concrete steps connect with another metal stair leading up to the new studio space, with a toilet and kitchenette off the adjacent landing.

Cast concrete divides and zones different areas

A large east-facing terrace was created next to the studio, with full-height sliding doors allowing the interior and exterior spaces to be opened up to one another.

The studio's concrete floors extend out onto the courtyard, enhancing the connection between the spaces. A bench inserted along the existing stone wall incorporates a water spout that creates a soothing sound as it pours into a trough below.

Sliding doors open out to the courtyard

A final set of steps ascends from the studio to a mezzanine bedroom slotted in beneath the gabled roof. Windows lining this secluded space provide views of the village's historic tower and the Montgrí mountain range beyond.

Elsewhere in Spain, architecture studio Sara Acebes Anta built a villa that boasts a pared-back colour palette, while Horma Studio designed a home comprised of a number of geometric volumes.

Photography is by Adrià Goula.

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Fourteen Black architects and designers you should know

To celebrate Black History Month 2022, we asked 12 renowned Black architects and designers to select a fellow Black contemporary who deserves greater recognition.

Each of the established architects and designers was asked to nominate another Black creative, as a way of championing Black architecture and design. Some chose to nominate more than one.

Some took the opportunity to nominate architects or designers that live in the same country and work in similar fields with London-based Yinka Ilori nominating artist Eve de Haan and Nkwo Onwuka nominating fellow Nigerian-based fashion designer Emmy Kasbit.

Read:

Architects and designers create Google Docs spreadsheet listing black-owned studios

Others decided to delve further into the African diaspora by selecting someone from a neighbouring African country such as Nairobi architecture studio Cave Bureau, who nominated Ugandan-based Doreeen Adengo.

See below for the 14 architects and designers that you should know:

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Eve de Haan
Nominated by Yinka Ilori

"If you haven't heard of Eve de Haan yet, expect to be hearing a lot more from her over the next year. Based in London and working predominantly in neon, I've been following her works for Half a Roast Chicken for a number of years now – a powerful mix of electric colour and charged words bringing a modern take on personal storytelling.

"From The Saatchi and The Neon Gallery, Eve has been steadily gaining attention also with campaigns with Browns, Monica Vinader and billboard projects around London, and her latest neon exhibition 'Don't Cry Over Spilt Milk' was a slice of pure, colourful joy in the centre of Canary Wharf. Excited to see what she does next."

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Terrell Griffith
Nominated by Mitzi Okou, Where are the Black Designers? (WATBD)

"This is a love letter to my WATBD team. Terrell Griffith is a huge part of the beating heart of the WATBD community. He is a silent force that has uplifted and contributed to the major milestones and impact that this organisation has made.

"Griffith is the most thoughtful designer and person I know. He is a quiet spirit whose wisdom has brought such care and thoughtfulness to WATBD products. His practice has really taught me to be caring and respectful towards others. As a master of his craft, he has truly uplifted WATBD to beautiful heights and this community is so blessed to have someone who cares so much.

"The love and passion that both of these creatives have in their heart towards Black creativity has and still continues to elevate not only the WATBD community but Black creatives period."

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Melissa Kacoutie
Nominated by Dominique Petit-Frère, Limbo Accra

"Melissa Kacoutie is one of the most prominent Ivorian architects of the moment. In 2016, she opened her own architecture firm – Jeannette Studio Architecture based in the Cocody district of Abidjan. Through her practice, her greatest pride is to hire different people from young women who prove in fact that it is possible for women to work in a sector considered as male-dominated in Africa.

"What I love most about Kacoutie's work is her efforts to blend traditional and raw minimalistic style in a repetition of simple elements to mimic complexity, all endowed with a touch of femininity."

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Doreen Adengo
Nominated by Kabage Karanja and Stella Mutegi, Cave Bureau

"Doreen Adengo's teaching, research and practice unearths and critiques latent pre and postcolonial architectural manifestations of the African city, enriching her contemporary projects with historical depth and grounding off the shores of Lake Victoria."

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Moran Carl Munyuthe
Nominated by Kabage Karanja and Stella Mutegi, Cave Bureau

"Moran Carl Munyuthe's artisanal practice and artist's residency on the ancient island of Lamu sets a timely reading of Swahili craft, critically inseminated with his contemporary sensibility of furniture design and space production on the East African coast."

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Hassan Rahim
Nominated by Ini Archibong

"When I think of Hassan Rahim I think of a pure unbounded talent that has all of the raw DIY grit that is familiar to any of us who grew up black and on the fringes in southern California. This is highlighted by the fact that he is completely self-taught.

"Rahim is a shining example to young black creatives that you don't have to go the traditional route to achieve success in a field where we aren't necessarily highly represented. I had the pleasure of working with Rahim on a campaign recently for Ultimate Ears."

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Nifemi Ogunro
Nominated by Nifemi Marcus-Bello, NM Bello Studio

"Nifemi Ogunro is a designer who throws a great deal of her emotions into her pieces. This means a lot of her products have soul and there is an emotional attachment you tap into when you encounter them and hear about her unique design approach.

"Her unconventional yet contemporary forms also speak to her fearlessness to explore unconventional use of simple and accessible materials."

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Albert Williamson Taylor
Nominated by Remi Connolley Taylor, Remi CT

"Albert Williamson Taylor is supporter and collaborator of innovative internationally reclaimed structures.

"He is a constant advocate to celebrate the beauty and possibilities in the built environment. He has been a long term talent, teacher, innovator and champion to the architectural industry."

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Yohance Harper
Nominated by Remi Connolley Taylor

"Yohance Harper is an advocate for the framework and support which is needed to create a design-led built environment. Celebrating and collaborating in what it means to bring it to life within the multiple places he has his hand in.

"He is an inspirational thinker on how development can be handled, with care and detail. He has a creative passion for the education of how to create an innovative development proposal and is the right person to be doing it within the educational field currently an honorary lecturer  at The Bartlett School."

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Dina Griffin
Nominated by Tiara Hughes, First 500

"Dina Griffin, fellow of the American Institute of Architects has been a fierce and phenomenal example of an architect leading in practice through her firm Interactive Design Architects.

"Additionally, she has been a personal mentor of mine for most of my professional career. I can call her anytime for advice or guidance in a space with so few Black women. First 500 is lucky to have her as an advisor!"

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Jean Servais
Nominated by Bibi Seck, Birsel + Seck

"Jean Servais creates objects that look like us. His creations are unique firstly because he leaves his genetic imprint on them by sculpting them himself, and then because he revisits everyday objects in Africa.

"He is a humble and essential designer in my opinion who does not keep his point of view in his pocket, but puts it at the service of the objects he creates and the result is just divine. At each of his exhibitions, I discover a sensitive person whose primary interest is to pay homage to the wood he transforms."

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Emmy Kasbit
Nominated by Nkwo Onwuka, Nkwo Design

"Emmy Kasbit has revived and almost lost art of textile weaving that is peculiar to the south east region of Nigeria. He works it into modern clothing and in so doing he provides a livelihood for the women in that weaving community."

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Zariah Cameron
Nominated by Roshannah Bagley, Something Media

"I'd like to nominate Zariah Cameron. Based in Atlanta and only a junior in college, she recently made the move from graphic design into UX. An inspiring & passionate force of nature she's a fantastic advocate for young Black women and designers.

"At our annual design conference last year she impressed our community and audience and held her own amongst the heavyweights. To support her peers and ensure they're starting their career with the correct tools she's established the AEI Design Initiative Programme. Keep an eye on this one!"

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Alicia Ajayi
Nominated by Stephen Burks

"Alicia Ajayi and I became acquainted when we both found ourselves teaching as adjunct faculty members at the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, & Preservation at Columbia University last year.

"Ajayi is a powerful force for radical Black place-making within a mostly white male academic setting. With an uncompromising and critical voice, she designs opportunities for Black agency in an effort to correct accepted historical narratives in favour of Black self-determination.

"Her research is critically important because it seeks to counteract persistent oppressive practices and pedagogies which form the foundation of Western design thought leadership."

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Twelve Chinese architecture projects completing in the Year of the Tiger

This week China celebrates Chinese New Year. To mark the festivities, Dezeen has rounded up 12 major Chinese architecture projects set to complete in the Year of the Tiger.

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DJI Headquarters, Shenzhen, by Foster + Partners

Designed by Foster + Partners, this headquarters for a robotics company will have a pair of towers made of stacked boxed forms connected by a skybridge.

Expressed steel trusses on the buildings eliminate the need for interior columns making it easier for the firm to fly its drones inside, while the bridge will be used to showcase its technology.

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The Monolith, Ningbo, by Neri&Hu

Shanghai-based studio Neri&Hu designed a cultural destination in Xiangshan, near the eastern coastal city of Ningbo.

It will be made up of five distinct building complexes including villas, thermal baths, seaside leisure facilities, restaurants, and a chapel (pictured).

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Image is by Raw Vision Studio

Shenzhen East Waste-to-Energy Plant, Shenzhen, by Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects

The world's largest waste-to-energy power plant will be completed later this year in the mountainous outskirts of Shenzhen. It is being designed by Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects along with fellow Danish firm Gottlieb Paludan Architects.

Nicknamed the Energy Ring, the circular structure will feature photovoltaic panels across two-thirds of its 66,000-square-metre roof, and is expected to incinerate 5,000 tonnes of rubbish per day.

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Aranya Cloud Center, Qinhuangdao, by MAD Architects

This multi-purpose cultural centre, located in Qinhuangdao, northeastern China, was designed by Beijing-based studio MAD to resemble a "floating cloud by the sea".

It will be topped with an amorphous overhanging roof clad in white-stained glass aimed at giving the building an ethereal, floating appearance, while the interior will be column-free.

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Photo is by Raw Vision Studio

Shanghai Library East, Shanghai, by Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects

This 115,000 square-metre Shanghai Library East, has been conceived by Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects as a singular monolithic object floating above the tree canopy within the largest park in Shanghai.

The main library volume sits atop two pavilions housing a 1,200-seat performance venue, exhibition and events space and a dedicated children's library.

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Suzhou Shanfeng Academy, Suzhou, by OPEN Architecture

New York-founded and Beijing-based studio OPEN Architecture has designed this school campus as a series of five volumes connected by semi-outdoor corridors and courtyards.

As well as bringing light, air and nature into the buildings, these features are intended to reference traditional Chinese landscape drawings.

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Xinhu Hangzhou Prism, Hangzhou, by OMA

Intended to resemble "a pinnacle reaching into the sky", this mixed-use building will be made up of two oblique facades with cube-shaped balconies and a large plant-filled atrium at its centre.

OMA said its design is modelled on the ancient Chinese proverb "above, there is heaven; below, there is Suzhou and Hangzhou".

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Tencent East China Headquarters, Shanghai, by Ronald Lu & Partners

This 150-metre tower in Shanghai has been designed by Hong Kong studio Ronald Lu & Partners for technology conglomerate Tencent.

With its rectangular window frames, the building's facade will have a pixelated effect in a nod to the company's area of business.

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Image is by Atchain

Xi'an International Football Centre, Xi'An, by Zaha Hadid Architects

This 60,000-seater football stadium with an overhanging translucent roof is due to complete this year ahead of the 2023 AFC Asian Cup.

Zaha Hadid Architects included palatial columns around the structure interspersed with plant-filled terraces along the south-facing side.

Find out more about Xi'an International Football Centre ›

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Xianju Hotel, Taizhou, by ZJJZ Atelier

This hotel, in the eastern Zhejiang province, will be split down the middle via a staircase leading through a dramatic pitched walkway.

The rooftop will feature an infinity pool, which architect ZJJZ Atelier said is designed to maximise views of the surrounding mountain landscape.

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Shili Lijiang Science Promotion Building, Zhuhai, by Penda China

A steeply undulating roof will characterise this agricultural exhibition centre in the rural region of Guangdong, designed by Penda China.

Its distinctive shape was informed by a lotus pool on the north side of the site.

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Beijing Sub-Center Library, Beijing, by Snøhetta

Norwegian architecture studio Snøhetta has designed a 16-metre-tall glass-enclosed library in the Chinese capital which will be characterised by a forest-like canopy of pillars supporting its roof.

"The stepped landscape areas with the tree-like surroundings invite people to sit down and take a break at any time on their journey through the building – creating an informal zone and the notion of sitting under a tree reading your favorite book," Snøhetta said.

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