At 700 square feet, this weekend getaway in Ecuador goes back to basics and celebrates the vernacular architecture of its surroundings. The home’s four primary materials—locally sourced brick, steel, concrete, and glass—interact through simple and pure forms, dappled by an interplay of lights and shadows. The resultant “tiny” home contains one bedroom, one bathroom, a flexible loft space, and features a passive solar design.

The home is composed of two simple forms connected by a glass bridge. Challenged to include all elements of a full home in a small envelope, the team conceptualized the design not only in plan but in section, creating a double-height space, expanding the interior footprint to meet the exterior mountain views. The double-height structure contains a living room, dining room, kitchen, and flexible loft space. Custom-built floor-to-ceiling glass and metal doors blend the boundaries between indoors and out, maximizing natural light and capturing exterior views of the landscape.

Located roughly one hour outside of Quito, which rests at 2800 meters above sea level, the home’s locale experiences highly contrasting weather. To accommodate this weather pattern, the home employs a passive solar design approach. The east and west exposures receive direct sunlight in the morning and in the evening. The brick materiality stores the heat of the day and releases it at night when the temperatures drop. The operable windows and doors on all sides of the home facilitate cross-air circulation. In a region where air conditioning and heating is uncommon, innovative design strategies provide comfortable temperatures at all times while favoring energy efficiency.

Throughout the process, the local craftsmen became an integral part of the design process, which was largely developed via on-site communication. The resultant home is an environmentally responsive, comfortable space that fully immerses itself within its locale.