Articles by Valentina Díaz

Leaving behind the urban fervor of Quito requires a slow decantation, a change of pace where asphalt finally yields to the vegetation of the dry steppe. In the Guayllabamba valley, architecture does not seek to conquer the land but to coexist with it; the House in the Forest arises from this premise, not as an imposed structure, but as a device for inhabiting time. The project is best understood under the logic of the “nest”: a structure that weaves intergenerational memories and, instead of settling heavily, decides to levitate over a landscape that it barely disturbs.

Cornered against a protected forest, on a gentle slope that overlooks a lush botanical garden, there is a bold infrastructure, a mute monument, almost without memory, function and scale. The building is meant to host culinary activities; from intimate, informal dines to large social events. Supported by a generous specialized kitchen totally buried underground, the building challenges the archetype of an open plan.

House A. Martínez, located in the center of Peribán de Ramos, Michoacán, is a project that proposes a simple way of living, where space accompanies daily life and architecture becomes a silent support for what is essential.

“The Memory of the River” is a project located at the intersection of public art and ephemeral architecture, conceived as a transitory infrastructure capable of reactivating urban spaces in the city of Bogotá through cultural uses. The initiative arises from the Secretariat of Culture, Recreation and Sports (SCRD) with Secretary Santiago Trujillo, the Director of Art, Culture, and Heritage Diego Parra, and structured by the Subdirectorate of Infrastructure and Cultural Heritage of the Secretariat, led by Edgar Figueroa, with a team composed of: Edgar Bernal, Emmanuel Guerra, Juliana Mendoza, Diego Rodríguez, and Juan Sebastián Robayo. They advocate for a temporary intervention—instead of a permanent one—as a strategy to decentralize cultural uses and allow different neighborhoods in the city to host their activities.

Arupo rises serenely before the Ilaló volcano, in the Cornejo neighborhood of Conocoto. It is the home of a couple who embrace retirement not as an ending but as a threshold into a different time: slower in work, yet more intense in love for their children and grandchildren. An intimate refuge, yet open—ready to welcome family, friends, and the flow of life itself.

The CO House, located in Santo Domingo, Chile, was born out of the necessity of a couple looking to settle on the coast with a versatile and flexible home. The design aimed to balance the comfort for the daily use of two people with the ability to comfortably accommodate ten occupants during certain periods of the year, prioritizing functional flexibility.