Mestizo Estudio Arquitectura: The Latest Architecture and News

Between 2023 and 2024, photographers Francesco Russo and Luca Piffaretti documented architecture and landscapes across Ecuador's coast, the Andes Mountains, the Amazon rainforest, the Galápagos Islands, and cities such as Quito, Guayaquil, and Cuenca. The photographic documentation explores Ecuador's evolving identity through its contemporary architecture, examining how it engages with natural surroundings, urban conditions, and social contexts. The resulting archive includes more than 40 projects by renowned local practices such as Al Borde, Durán & Hermida, Emilio López, José María Sáez, La Cabina de la Curiosidad, MCM+A, Natura Futura, and RAMA Estudio, among many others. The selection demonstrates how architecture can create high-quality spaces that respond to contemporary demands for sustainability and environmental responsibility by combining creativity and technology with renewable resources, despite ongoing economic, climatic, and political challenges in Latin America and beyond.

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As climate variability intensifies, extreme storms are becoming more frequent in some regions while water scarcity deepens in others. Architects are increasingly pressed to reconsider how buildings engage with rainfall as an environmental force and a design resource. How can architecture move beyond shedding the excess water to actively collect, store, and reuse it? What would it mean to treat rainwater as a material that shapes resilient and meaningful spaces?

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When we think about cities, we often assume the orthogonal grid is the norm: neat, predictable, and rational. However, many urban areas around the world, notably those shaped by hills and uneven terrain, defy this convention. In cities like Lisbon, in Portugal orthogonal grids appear only in flatter zones such as Baixa, while surrounding areas like Alfama adapt organically to topography. These areas create more layered, irregular, and visually dynamic urban forms. Yerevan in Armenia, offers another urban example of this adaptation: the Cascade Complex transforms a steep hill into a terraced public space that connects different city levels while framing panoramic views. For other countries, this response to topography becomes even more critical. Cities like Tegucigalpa in Honduras or Valparaiso in Chile are defined by steep, irregular terrain that requires architects to engage deeply with the land. Designing in these contexts, especially for residential projects, demands technical adaptation and a contextual understanding that allows the slope to become a generative element in the design process.

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Ecuador, though a relatively small country in terms of land area, boasts a vast and diverse range of ecosystems and natural landscapes, including the Andes mountains, the Pacific coastline, and the Amazon rainforest. This makes the natural environment a key player, shaping its relationship with the built environment and demanding that architecture seamlessly integrate with and respect its context.

Over the years, Ecuadorian architecture has developed its own identity, successfully adapting to these diverse settings. Various construction techniques have been implemented, relying on locally sourced materials to create spaces and shelters in complete harmony with the landscape. Amid the growing trend of seeking a closer connection with nature, architecture in different regions of Ecuador has had to adjust to these conditions.

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Annually, ArchDaily's curatorial team undertakes a rigorous selection process to identify exemplary projects in Latin American residential architecture. The goal is to share these works of architecture with our audience and highlight and promote good practices within contemporary architecture. This meticulous effort focuses on identifying projects that stand out for their design and their positive impact on the environment, innovative use of materials and techniques, and ability to address current needs.

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Throughout the year, ArchDaily's team of curators works on expanding and populating our project library. Located all around the world, each curator carefully considers the best works emanating from their respective regions in an effort to have a diverse representation of the most inspiring and innovative built works. The team looks to new rising practices, new technologies, and the vernacular revival of traditional construction techniques. Seeking socially driven initiatives, as well as major works by renowned architects, the overall offers a holistic view of the built world today and is relayed through the yearly project review.

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