AMD defines the challenge of this design competition as: “Connect a cooperative of indigenous chocolate producers and artisans in the Ecuadorian Amazon with the global marketplace by building a chocolate factory and fair trade exchange and off-site satellite technology hubs.”(http://openarchitecturenetwork.org/challenge/south_america).
Our interpretation of this challenge has led us to design our proposal in terms of two major purposes. One is to propose a way for the nature of Beaza, Ecuador, and technology to coexist. The other is to design a site that creates a close relationship among indigenous chocolate producers, native artisans, the locals and people around world.
First, our design for main complex displays an approach to realize the coexistence of architecture and the landscape of Beaza. Our design makes an effective use of the existing landscape by merging the roof structure of main complex with the landscape, not only creating the scenery where the borderline between architecture and the landscape is blurred (in a unique way) but also building the facility that functions as both a drainage and a recycling system. The roof of main complex is “green roof” composed of 30-centimeter reinforced concrete slab topped with 30-centimeter soil and grass. This green roof drains and collects a large amount of rainwater resulting from the Beaza climate to be recycled efficiently.
Our design for the interior space of main complex is composed to urge communication among its users by forming maximum visual connection among different spaces located within the complex. Fuwa-fuwa dome, a distinctive form of trampoline made of polyurethane, is located at the center of the interior space, and several sets of tables and chairs surround it to create visual connection between children playing with the dome and their parents who might want to sit and relax. Also, both community research library and computer training room have visual connection to fuwa-fuwa dome as well. This orientation enables parents to do their own work while keeping eyes on their children. Moreover, to increase the circulation of users and thus to prompt fortuitous communication among them, users are allowed to borrow a laptop computer with wireless internet connection at the reception counter of computer training room. A user can take this computer anywhere inside the complex.
Another way in which we promote communication among users of main complex is through our design of handicraft market. Though located as a part of main complex, handicraft market is a roofed exterior street market. This street market provides opportunities for aboriginal artisans to sell their handicraft to tourists and the locals. It also brings liveliness to main complex by generating communication among the natives and the visitors.
We also designed the path for chocolate factory tour because the tour would be a good way to connect tourists with indigenous chocolate producers. The tour is conducted not only on the ground level but also on the second floor level to let tourists experience the entire process of making chocolate. The staircase led to second floor level is located in handicraft market. Therefore, all of the tourists who participate in the factory tour have an opportunity to see unique traditional handicraft as well.
Different from our design for main complex, our design for living quarters stresses the importance of protecting privacy of residents from the visitors to main complex. Because living quarters should provide comfortable and safe homes for local factory workers, we have placed living quarters far away from main complex. In this way residents/workers would not only feel their privacy is well protected but would also feel truly “at home” instead of feeling as if their houses were a part of their work place.
As much as our design protects privacy of residents of living quarters, however, it seeks to further communication among residents by increasing their circulation. Living quarters consist of nine small buildings. Each building is an independent room which functions as a bedroom for each resident. While each building has a toilet and a bath, it is designed without a kitchen and a dining room; the residents are encouraged to use the kitchen and the dining room in the common house to cook and eat together with other residents. The laundry room is also placed in the common house. A garden is located at the center of living quarters, and the residents are expected to share it with one another. Although the size and the location of windows in each building secure privacy of each resident, common spaces – kitchen, dining room, laundry room and garden – enhance the possibility of communication among residents. The structure of each building uses a steel structure to achieve minimum wall thickness. The layout of each room varies to correspond to different lifestyles.
Lastly, our design for a satellite technology hub aims to construct a space where technology and locals in the Ecuadorian Amazon coexist effectively. Because we understand that satellite technology hubs might be placed in various places of the Napo Province, we did not design a satellite technology hub in a geographically or culturally specific way. Rather, what we sought to accomplish was to create a satellite hub which can be placed anywhere in the Napo Province and would thus make the use of computer easy and enjoyable for indigenous people who may have never used computers before.
Our design for a satellite technology hub consists of one reception unit and three workstation units. The reception unit has a printer and a computer connected to the computers in the administrative office of main complex in Beaza. The elevation of each unit is rectangle, but the section has curved surface inside to fit human body shape. During satellite hub’s open hours, there is always a manager in the reception unit to give instructions for aboriginal people whenever needed, to control the printing and to perform trouble shootings. When a satellite hub is closed, all the units are gathered and made into one locked and secured “box”; in this way computers in the hub cannot be stolen. As the density of each area in the Napo Province might vary, we designed a satellite hub in the way the number of its units can be either increased or decreased depending on the number of its users.
