natura futura installs sculptural wooden canopy over art & food hub in ecuador

‘Ficus Alto’ – Outdoor Art Platform by Natura Futura 

Located in Pisagua, Ecuador, ‘Ficus Alto’ is an outdoor art platform dedicated to local cultural initiatives. Its owners, Vanessa and Jordan, wanted to host a flexible space where new artists from satellite communities can converge and collectively explore food, music, and art. Natura Futura was invited to complete their vision, building an almost sculptural and slanted wooden canopy under which the gatherings take place. The resulting design evokes warmth and openness to the natural environment and community.

all images © Natura Futura

linking the wooden structure to the site and community 

‘Ficus Alto’ sits on 9x7m platform in the owner’s front yard, where cocoa was traditionally dried. Natura Futura (see more here) configured the structure using two metal porches and a 9x9m roof supported by wooden trusses with a convex curve section to tighten, reduce costs, and cover a greater length sans intermediate pillars. Each wooden truss was built from 0.15 x 4 x 0.02 m planks. ‘Using the labor and materials of the site, we seek to rescue and reinterpret the form in which we use them, dignifying and repowering them for new uses,’ comments the architects. 

The flexible program connects the platform with pre-existing elements on-site, like the adjacent old house, the ficus tree, and a large rock that serves as a furniture piece. In other words, the open design of ‘Ficus Alto’ turns it into a kind of extension of the house and sidewalk — truly evoking a shared, homely space where daily activities can unfold.

project info:

name: Ficus Alto – Outdoor Art Platform

location: Pisagua, Los Rios, Ecuador

completion year: 2022

architecture + photography: Natura Futura

designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: lea zeitoun | designboom