The Workshop | Daniel Moreno Flores

The Workshop designed by Daniel Moreno Flores, Initially, the space to take part was saturated and inaccessible in some corners. There was no connection between the garden of an entrance and the workshop because in spite of having windows this relation was lost.

The objective was to clean it visually, to clear walls, to create ample and practical spaces to store, to organize the materials and to hide the work objects.

The owner looked for the space to be white, empty, minimal and that took advantage of the daylight. In this space, the views are prioritized and the relation between the garden and the distant mountain is emphasized.

The spaces where the owner felt comfortable and safe were very important.
Because of the low budget, most of what was removed from the original space had to be hidden or reused in the taken part space.  It is recycled almost in its totality. The wood used was taken off from a demolished house.

The construction was carried out in two and a half months behind a house of approximately 50 years.  The intervention is independent of the house and it is shown like a place to escape in which the owner gambles, meditates, listen to music, can be in contact with nature, but mainly it is a space to be creative and create.

All the space is minimal where the light is the protagonist.  It is a scene that allows to manifold actions. A flexible space with portable furniture: the tables and stools can be put and taken off. When the objects are hidden there is left an empty space where anything can happen. A big carpet can also be extended to work with groups in the ground.
Space volumes were created. It was wanted that with a single element the construction could be solved. The new volumes are massive. Repetition of the wood, a piece next to the other (floor, wall, ceiling), generating a nest (attic) and a balcony towards the outside. This box of the entrance recovers the view towards Pichincha hills and connects the interior with the garden which generates an iconic presence.  The new elements intensify, contrasting with the white walls.

The massive and slowness are expressed with a rod as if it was a thread, with subtility and lightness. The rod becomes structural support, launching slips, banister rails, and others. The new elements are light and defy to the gravity.
The structure of the wood ceiling is simplified and transparent with an enormous glass that is added. Therefore, this interior has the appearance of an outside which let to be in contact with the changes of the light during the day.
New spaces through the fragmentation in levels were obtained to experience the place in their different heights and to live it like a whole.

Project Info:
Architects: Daniel Moreno Flores
Location: Quito, Ecuador
Project Team: Felipe Ordonez, Esteban Benavides, and Daniel Corti
Contractor: Fabian Tenório
Owner: Artist Pilar Flores
Budget: US$ 7.000
Project Year: 2009
Project Name: The Workshop
All Images Courtesy Of Daniel Moreno