D4 House. | Holger Cuadrado

The idea of home as such can no longer be that of tradition. Aspects once considered important now are less relevant, because it has been realized that life contained within the house is the most precious thing. The D4 house is conceived according to three main strategies that define its design criteria.
 
The structure is the architecture
The house is conceived as a structural abstract box, supported on four points that are disposed with a distance of 7.15m and flown of 4.70m. On one side the element of the house such as columns, ribbed slabs, diaphragms and handrail - beams are designed to work as counterweights for the flown, highlighting gravity as a universal resource of architecture.  At the same time, the transmission of loads to the ground on a minimum of supports, allows freeing the space, generating order and a wide interior space.
 
Space flexibility as an atribute
The idea of a strictly functional house is outdated. The project was designed as a spatial container capable of hosting different functions inside, incorporating two flexible sanitary cores that allow variations and adaptations for future spaces’ configurations. The external staircase is a key element of the project considering that it could be replicated on the upper floors in order to make independent the distribution of new uses on the others floor like offices, housing.
 
The place suggests how to build the architecture.
Beyond building a physical object, architecture builds places for living, creating a strong relation with the place in which is build. The relation between the construction and the environment it is fundamental in order to enhance the life inside the building. In this sense the project it conceived as a open box, able to intercept the distant landscape of the Andes mountain and the city of Loja located in thevalley at 2100msnm. The house is oriented to take also advantage of the solar incidence on both fronts.