A MAGNOLIA TREE AT THE HEART OF A HOME IN ECUADOR
With his architecture and design firm EFE, Felipe Escudero designed a house for his mother arranged around a central courtyard that frames a magnolia placed in a green patio.
“Designing a house for a mother is not just an act of design, it’s also an act of love.” With these words, the Ecuadorian architect invites us inside this 700-square-meter modernist residence. Magnolia House is located at the top of a mountain valley in the Los Arrayanes neighborhood of Puembo, Ecuador. “My mother always told me stories about a magnolia tree she had in her house when she was a child ,” explains Felipe Escudero. This minimalist architectural design is organized around a courtyard at the heart of which this magnificent flowering tree flourishes, “delicately placed on the ground like a spaceship that has landed.” The structure of the house is topped with a flat concrete slab with large spans and cantilevers. The glass facades and covered balcony blur the boundaries between inside and outside, allowing natural light and air to filter through the spaces. The other distinctive feature of the house is that it houses the first collection of naturalist furniture from the EFE firm.
Between nature, craftsmanship and technology
Magnolia House offers a 360-degree view of the surrounding landscape. The spacious entrance faces the courtyard, with bedrooms and bathrooms at either end. At its center is an indoor/outdoor living area, separated by sliding doors, which leads to a terrace overlooking the infinity pool. The pool is tiled in green to blend seamlessly into the lush surroundings. The living spaces include two kitchens and a dining room furnished with a long marble table and geometric chairs, designed by the firm EFE. Two of Magnolia House's most striking features are a 3D-printed fiberglass sculpture and a ribbon light enclosed in a transparent tube. Craftsmanship is thus combined with technology to innovatively mold materials, producing effects that shift depending on the light and the viewer's perspective. “It’s beautiful when architecture takes on the appearance of a sculpture, as if it were designed with grace ,” explains Felipe Escudero. “In the construction of a building, there is always a social component to consider. I think we also need imagination and dreams to live better lives.”
