Estudio Felipe Escudero, Ecuador: Wallpaper* Architects’ Directory 2022
Wallpaper* Architects’ Directory is our annual round-up of exciting emerging architecture studios. Meet Ecuador-based Estudio Felipe Escudero, and explore its Magnolia House
![view from Magnolia house in Ecuador](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/x9yZeNf94cgYziDCkXtytM-415-80.jpg)
Experimental homes, and contemporary, fluid shapes form part of architect Felipe Escudero's fast-growing portfolio. The young studio has now joined the Wallpaper* Architects’ Directory 2022, our annual list of exciting emerging practices from across the globe.
Who: Estudio Felipe Escudero
Felipe Escudero founded his namesake practice in Quito in 2015, after working in London, Beijing and New York, in the offices of Heatherwick Studio, MAD Architects and
Space4Architecture respectively. ‘The reason why I decided to come back to Ecuador was that after a while, I began to see all the similarities between these big cities and I was interested in finding something unique here,’ he says.
Escudero has built several residential, commercial and cultural projects, such as Magnolia House (pictured) for his mother; his own residence; and the concrete embrace of Casa Roca. Most recently, the studio built the Foresta restaurant, which features cooking ‘islands’ made from volcanic stone sourced from Cotopaxi in Ecuador. ‘The speed and informality of Latin America can be beneficial, in the sense that you can build things quite fast. It has been a journey in making the most of local conditions with a global perspective,’ says Escudero.
He describes his design methodology as ‘form exploration, with the intention of creating atemporal buildings; there is always a search for a form that appears to be simultaneously from the past as well as the future’. This is clearly seen in his proposal for the Quito Contemporary Arts Centre, which features a monolithic white cube placed upon the ruins of a historic house.
What: Magnolia House
The lush verdant mountain valley of Puembo, Ecuador, provides the perfect backdrop to Estudio Felipe Escudero’s Magnolia House. Built for the architect's mother, the home was designed around her love of cooking and magnolias, with the pale raw concrete structure configured around a central courtyard featuring her favoured tree.
‘The process was both amazing and emotional, to be able to build and design for my mother, a one-of-a-kind opportunity,’ says Escudero. The house can be described as a testament to her love for modern art and architecture, which she nurtured in him. The single-storey house features floor-to-ceiling glass walls, with the drooping walls of the central courtyard providing privacy for the bedrooms positioned on either side. Using light concrete slabs, Escudero endeavoured to create an effect of ‘a spaceship lightly floating down and landing on a virgin landscape’.
Internally, the design employs a restrained palette of mostly white with hints of black and grey, and has largely been furnished with the studio's own furniture line, ‘Near Life’. Escudero explains the rationale of the layout: ‘The intention was to design a house that, if you lived alone, in the case of my mother, would be compact but simultaneously able to accommodate large family dinners, therefore the main spaces such as the dining room, kitchen and living room can open up to form a large space to accommodate parties.’
Wallpaper* Newsletter + Free Download
For a free digital copy of August Wallpaper*, celebrating Creative America, sign up today to receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories
Why: Wallpaper* Architects’ Directory 2022
Conceived in 2000 as an international index of emerging architectural talent, the Wallpaper* Architects’ Directory is our annual listing of promising practices from across the globe. While always championing the best and most promising young studios, over the years, the project has showcased inspiring work with an emphasis on the residential realm. Now including more than 500 alumni, the Architects’ Directory is back for its 22nd edition. Join us as we launch this year’s survey – 20 young studios from Australia, Belgium, Canada, Chile, China, the Czech Republic, Ecuador, France, Greece, India, Indonesia, Japan, Nigeria, Paraguay, Thailand, the UAE, the UK, the USA, and Vietnam with plenty of promise, ideas and exciting architecture.
INFORMATION
-
‘Hedonistic and avant-garde’: Rabanne’s Julian Dossena on the legacy of the chainmail 1969 bag
Paco Rabanne’s 1969 chainmail handbag encapsulates the late designer’s futuristic, space-age style. Current creative director Julien Dossena tells Wallpaper* about the bag’s particular pleasures
By Jack Moss Published
-
Postcard from Paris: Olympic fever takes over the streets
On the eve of the opening ceremony of Paris 2024, our correspondent shares her views from the streets of the capital about how the event is impacting the urban landscape.
By Minako Norimatsu Published
-
The Mercury Prize nominees for 2024 have been revealed
Charli XCX, The Last Dinner Party and Beth Gibbons are amongst this year's nominees
By Charlotte Gunn Published
-
Proclamation House is a hempcrete urban sculpture nestled under peppermint trees
Built from hempcrete and stone, Proclamation House, a sculpturally angular build in Perth, Western Australia, carves out an intriguing niche on a quiet suburban street
By Carli Philips Published
-
Remembering Alexandros Tombazis (1939-2024), and the Metabolist architecture of this 1970s eco-pioneer
Back in September 2010 (W*138), we explored the legacy and history of Greek architect Alexandros Tombazis, who this month celebrates his 80th birthday.
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Sun-drenched Los Angeles houses: modernism to minimalism
From modernist residences to riveting renovations and new-build contemporary homes, we tour some of the finest Los Angeles houses under the Californian sun
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Behind the timber façade of a Byron Bay house in Australia
Son Studio designed this Byron Bay house as an honest exterior for a light-filled Australian retreat
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
South Yarra House makes a sculptural statement in Melbourne
South Yarra House by Pandolfini Architects explores the interplay of compression and expansion through a series of surprising sculptural objects in Australia
By Grace Bernard Published
-
Burnt Earth Beach House is an experimental retreat crafted in terracotta
The experimental Australian Burnt Earth Beach House by John Wardle breaks new ground in material composition, using baked earth for warmth, texture and tonality
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Lavender Bay house opens towards the water, overlooking Sydney harbour
Lavender Bay house by Tobias Partners is an expansive family home overlooking Sydney harbour
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Mori House is an Australian beach escape fusing international design influences
Mornington Peninsula's Mori House by architect Manuel Aires Mateus is a striking fusion of Australian, Portuguese and Japanese design influences
By Stephen Crafti Published