The blocks for the top floor, bearing less load, are made of 100% lime concrete, while the rest of the floors combine lime with cement. These blocks, approximately 135 cm long, 42 cm high, and with variable widths for each floor (64, 54, 44, and 34 cm), were prefabricated once the demolition was completed, before commencing the construction of the new building. This approach significantly reduced the construction duration. The blocks were stacked to build load-bearing walls perpendicular to the street, supporting cross-laminated timber ceilings. On each floor, the walls reduce in thickness by 10 cm, allowing direct support of the timber panels, facilitating the speed of execution of the entire structure.

Perpendicular to the main walls, 13 cm thick partition walls, constructed with the same cyclopean concrete and resulting from cutting a 60 cm wide block into four 13 cm sections, tie the structure of the entire building, together with the stair and elevator core.

The entire spatial and programmatic organization of the building responds to the described structural system; the floor plan is organized with a stair core in the corner, providing access to a walkway in the interior garden, from where each apartment is accessed—all are through apartments except those on the semi-basement floor, which, like those on the attic floor, have half the depth of the typical floors and utilize two structural spans for each apartment. The top-floor apartments have large terraces. Each floor also has a communal area (laundry room, lounges, etc.). The façade starkly displays the structural system: the end walls (vertical) of the prefabricated block walls, which decrease in height on each floor and support the timber (horizontal) ceilings, and, as the façade of each apartment, floor-to-ceiling wooden balconies with a lateral opaque strip and Venetian blinds to protect from the eastern and western sun.

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A politically committed and militant project!

The nucleus is resolved by using a wall of compacted earth blocks (CEB). The block is distributed through 3 large units adapted to the program; it generates open spaces for storage or facilities, enclosed spaces with their own program, and passage spaces that interconnect or separate areas. At the same time, in order not to alter the original stone walls, the block concentrates all the installations of the cohousing.

In terms of comfort, this large earth block provides a high hygroscopic property, which compensates the low capacity of existing stone walls to humidity regulation. In addition, it compensates part of the thermal inertia that is lost through the thermal insulation of the existing façades on its interior side.

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The compact volume, conceived through a passive design strategy to reduce the building’s energy demand, organizes the overall layout. On the access side, it defines a public square; on the other sides, it encloses the more private areas that make up the nursery school spaces: the south-facing classroom patios, the shared patio to the east, and the service strip located on the northern side.
A central courtyard promotes cross ventilation and the entry of natural light. This void creates a new educational space that, while outdoors, is protected from the wind. Its visibility from all interior spaces facilitates supervision and control of the children.
Solar control is optimized through the classroom porch and the incorporation of vegetation within the courtyard. Cross ventilation is planned both in plan and section, enhanced by large openings on the south-facing façades and smaller, higher openings on the northern façade.
The construction adopts a sequence of vaults that evoke the primal sense of shelter through their concave form. The structural system is organized through the repetition, in each bay, of a curved profile made of laminated timber beams. The building is modulated into six bays, each seven meters wide. These beams naturally resolve the slope of the roof. The ceramic roof highlights the path of rainwater. Just as the façade guides the entry of light, the roof shapes the itinerary of water, so that rain ceases to be a mere residue.
This spatial configuration gives rise to a warm and sheltered interior, generating a welcoming atmosphere for early childhood—a place that embraces, protects, and conveys calm.
The building is organized into three longitudinal strips. A central courtyard acts as the heart of the building, arranging the rooms around a continuous circulation. This space not only hosts children but also educates them. Constructive honesty, based on exposing structures, textures, and natural materials—without superfluous finishes or additive layers—turns the space into a didactic support. Matter becomes legible and tangible: what children see and touch explains how the building is constructed.
The impact on natural resources is reduced through the use of materials with a low environmental footprint, both during construction and throughout the building’s life cycle, prioritizing efficient construction systems, materials with controlled life cycles, and passive strategies.
Thermal mass is concentrated in elements in contact with the ground, such as concrete slabs, stone walls, and brick masonry. The roof, more exposed to solar radiation, is resolved as a lightweight, ventilated system with low thermal inertia, whose light-coloured ceramic tiles reduces solar absorption in summer.
The building is supported by a set of active systems that enhance its efficient performance and reduce its environmental impact.
The architecture is based on four principles: a climatic response tailored to the context, high energy efficiency through passive strategies, the use of natural, local, low-impact materials, and efficient technology that supports the building without imposing itself.
The result is a kind and welcoming building, where form, construction, and use combine naturally, giving rise to a comprehensible and habitable space that seeks to integrate respectfully into the landscape.

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The building is strategically designed to maximise solar gain in winter and reduce cooling demand in summer, incorporating cross ventilation, solar shading, and high thermal inertia in floors and walls with humidity-regulating hygroscopy and breathability. The ‘Trombe’ type roof is a key element that captures heat in winter and is ventilated in summer, regulating the temperature and thus eliminating active systems. The private patios function as user control and filtering elements for the ventilation of the dwellings.

With near-zero energy consumption (1.7 kWh/m²-year, NZEB), the project reduces CO₂ emissions by 50%, while circularity considerations mean a waste reduction of 60%. In addition, the project has been consciously designed with building systems where materials can be separated for reuse in the event of demolition. The Life Cycle Analysis demonstrates a low CO2 cost in construction (230 Kg Co2/m2), a 50% reduction compared to conventional constructions.

The result is a housing complex that reduces its environmental impact while strengthening the local economy and promoting territorial regeneration. By incorporating vernacular materials and techniques, Ses Veles Puigpunyent proposes an architecture in dialogue with the island’s culture, combining technical innovation and environmental responsibility.

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Sustainable Materials for a New Construction Method
The material palette of the Manal Pavilion reflects the central concern of the project: the experimental use of resource-saving building materials. Oulesse Concrete, made from recycled mixed demolition waste and mineral salts, achieves a strength of 25 MPa after 28 days and saves up to 70 percent CO₂ compared to conventional structural concrete. The binder Oxacrete Oulesse is the result of years of research and was produced industrially for the first time in this project. Nossim Cast Earth consists of one-third clay and two-thirds conventional aggregate, supplemented by Oxacrete Nossim, which first liquefies the clay and then solidifies it. The clay source used in the construction was a filter cake – a clay-containing waste product from KIBAG’s gravel plant. The Oxabloc Earth Blocks, produced by Terrabloc, consist of excavated material stabilized with Oxabrick Loko to ensure a compressive strength of 10 MPa and water stability. For the first time, they were built into a vault in this project.

A Model for Resource-Efficient Construction
The construction process itself was closely linked to the further development of the materials. The production and processing of the novel building materials placed high demands on industrial production, especially on adapting mixing processes in concrete plants. The experience gained is a decisive step for the scaling and standardization of these materials, which are intended to offer an environmentally friendly alternative to conventional building materials in the long term. In addition to material-technical innovation, the pavilion also sets architectural standards. Its polyrhythmic grid creates spatial diversity within the compact 50 m² footprint. The different spans of the vaulted arches create a multi-layered spatial structure that particularly emphasizes the interplay of structure and material. The clear articulation of the supporting structure makes the load transfer visible, while the sustainable building materials develop their own aesthetic quality. From the beginning, the building was planned as a temporary structure. Many components – including tunnel slabs, windows, corrugated roof sheets, and lamps – were reused or designated for future reuse. The concept follows the “Design-to-Dismantle” principle, thus providing an important impetus for resource-efficient construction that considers the entire life cycle of materials. Despite its small scale, the Manal Pavilion addresses fundamental questions of contemporary building culture and is an example of how sustainable building can be combined with architectural innovation.

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The modules’ flexibility and multiple connections enable the house to function as a single open space or separate areas. The staggered layout enhances visual relationships in all directions, creating a sense of spaciousness and a strong connection to the garden. At the heart of the house, the central module rises above the rest to increase solar gain in winter and improve cross-ventilation in summer.

The construction is simple, with load-bearing brick walls, concrete flooring, and vaulted ceilings. Our goal was to create a building with high thermal mass, which, combined with ample solar gain in winter and effective ventilation in summer, ensures optimal thermal comfort throughout the year.

The house is connected to the garden through planted pergolas that mirror the structural grid, forming outdoor spaces that act as climatic shelters and encourage interaction with the surrounding natural environment.

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A shift in model.
The family that owns the land is currently focused on transitioning from an extractive model toward one of ecological conservation. Their vision involves adventure tourism, taking advantage of the towering volcanic rock walls for climbing. They’ve introduced camping areas, and now, lodgings.

Lodgings that carry the memory of a quarry.
All obsolete items left behind by the quarry have been repurposed and revalued, forming a dialogue between time and memory that defines this unique context. The character of the lodgings is inseparable from that of the quarry itself.

In this process of spatial remediation, materials come from three sources:
(1) The natural context – The massive stones placed on site are remnants and absences of what was once extracted over the years; they now serve as structural supports. Along the 50-meter-high, 400-meter-wide cliff wall, flat stones have been deposited — these were used for the sinks. Gravel and sand were reused in walkways and outdoor spaces.

(2) Recycled materials – Vibrating screens and old oil pipeline tubes now serve as structural elements. Metal parts, carved stones, rods, and timbers (such as staves and beams) were salvaged from old constructions in Baños. A thick roll of steel cable, a scoop, small digger teeth, and other machinery spare parts were also reused. These recycled elements embrace the new visitors, creating spaces with the spirit and soul of the quarry while harmonizing with the native vegetation.

(3) The volcano – New pine and colorado wood provide the spatial quality and comfort needed for the interior of the lodgings and the shared dining area. The structures are built using two large trusses prefabricated on the ground — simple to make and easy to lift. The overall experience is that of an observatory, one that looks directly out at the Tungurahua Volcano, enhancing its majesty and grounding the visitor deeply in the spirit of the place.

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