A MAGNOLIA TREE AT THE HEART OF AN EQUATORIAL MANSION
With his architecture and design firm EFE, Felipe Escudero designed a house for his mother, arranged around a central courtyard that frames a magnolia tree set in a planted patio.
"Designing a home for a mother is not only an act of design, it's also an act of love." With these words, the Ecuadorian architect invites us inside this 700 m² modernist residence. Magnolia House is located at the top of a mountain valley in the Los Arrayanes district of Puembo, Ecuador. "My mother always told me stories about a magnolia tree she had in her house as a child," explains Felipe Escudero. This minimalist architectural design is organized around a courtyard at the heart of which blooms this magnificent flowering tree, "delicately placed on the ground like a spaceship that has landed". The structure is topped by a flat concrete slab with long spans and cantilevers. Glass facades and a covered balcony blur the boundaries between inside and outside, allowing natural light and air to filter into the spaces. Another special feature of the house is that it houses EFE's first collection of naturalist furniture.
Between nature, craftsmanship and technology
Magnolia House offers 360-degree views of the surrounding landscape. The spacious entrance faces the courtyard, with bedrooms and bathrooms at either end. In the center is an indoor/outdoor living room, separated by sliding doors, which leads to a terrace overlooking the infinity pool. This is covered in green tiles to blend in better with the lush surroundings. The living areas feature two kitchens and a dining room with a long marble table and geometric chairs, designed by EFE. The Magnolia House's two great assets are a 3D-printed fiberglass sculpture and ribbon lighting, enclosed in a transparent tube. In this way, craftsmanship joins with technology to better mold materials in innovative ways, to produce effects that change according to the light and the user's point of view. " It's beautiful when architecture takes on the appearance of sculpture, as if it were designed with grace," says Felipe Escudero. "When constructing a building, there's always a social component to consider. I think we also need fantasy and dreams to live better."
