mikhuna trade's lab in south america is heated and lit by sun, designed by TEC taller EC

commissioned to build a headquarters for mikhuna trade, a new company providing the world with organic products, ecuador-based practice TEC taller EC has faced the challenging environment of andes, an equinoctial mountain range in south america. requiring a keen knowledge of the territory, the building is a three-module metal structure on a brick base and is heated and lit naturally by the sun through the huge skylights in the roof.

images by lorena darquea schettini and paolo caicedo

given the complexity of the challenge, the proposal is simple: a volume of approximately 300 square meters opens to the sky to bathe the interior in natural light. here we find three modules, a commitment to common sense, loaded with a high degree of sophistication and reflection.

‘we have not designed the object but the paths that lead to it, have understood the environment in its phenomenology, the commission in its temporal dimension and the interest of adding a poetic element to the rational,’ explains TEC Taller EC team. the free and spacious structure is volume composed of a base of tinctured blocks and a metal cover that together, with the minimum possible material, achieve the maximum amount of cubic meters of habitable space in addition to heating, protection from the wind, ventilation, shade, and isolation.

inside, the sun rays are intercepted, the space is shaded without losing the light in an internal volumetry. the building works as a greenhouse open to the southeast, which captures the sunlight in the early morning hours so that it is not necessary to heat the interior by other means. for this reason, the energy consumption is very low — the sun is the best heater, the best and most pleasant source of light.

from the exterior, the architecture does not strive to disappear, it is perceived and ordered as a product of its interior logic that defines the relationship between the interior and exterior through the upper openings.

project info:

status: built

area: 300 sqm

client: mikhuna trade

architects: TEC Taller EC

partners in charge: pablo castro guijarro, roberto morales guijarro

design team: juan ruiz, cynthia quintero, daniel rodríguez, gabriel echeverría, hillary jarrín, bryan velasteguí.

photography: lorena darquea schettini, paolo caicedo

original text: esteban calderón taipe

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: maria erman | designboom