Floating Terraces

A residential landscape conceived as an inhabitable topography, where architecture gently detaches from the ground to preserve and amplify the natural terrain. This 100-unit residential project in Cumbayá proposes a new model of collective living in which modular dwellings appear to float above the landscape, allowing vegetation, air, and light to flow uninterrupted beneath and through the built form.

Rather than imposing a rigid grid, the project is organized as a flexible modular system capable of organic adaptation to steep and irregular terrain. Each residential unit follows a shared structural logic yet is uniquely configured through variation, orientation, and spatial perforation. These openings generate a sequence of private courtyards, terraces, and voids that draw nature deep into the interior, blurring the boundary between dwelling and landscape.

The architecture unfolds as a porous fabric suspended over the site. Circulation, communal areas, and outdoor spaces are interwoven to create a continuous spatial experience that prioritizes well-being, privacy, and environmental balance. A 10,000 m² multifunctional program anchors the community, supporting social interaction, leisure, and everyday services while maintaining a strong connection to the surrounding ecosystem.

This project defines sustainability not as an add-on, but as a spatial strategy — minimizing ground impact, maximizing natural ventilation and daylight, and allowing architecture to evolve in dialogue with topography. The result is a living system where modularity becomes freedom, and density is reconciled with landscape, calm, and quality of life.

Type: Residential / Multi-Family Housing
Location: Cumbayá, Ecuador
Client: Private
Design Year: 2023
Units: 100 Residential Units
Built Area:  10,000 m² (multifunctional program)
Concept: Modular floating units, landscape integration, courtyards and voids
Status: Concept / Development