Magnolia House is a contemplative residence where memory, nature, and material poetry converge, designed by Felipe Escudero as a tribute to his mother’s deep affinity for magnolia trees. Magnolia House reimagines the private home as a spatial narrative of serenity and connection — a singular concrete slab appears to hover above the landscape, framing a central courtyard where the magnolia tree becomes the heart of daily life.

The architecture dissolves boundaries between inside and outside: floor-to-ceiling operable glass walls and a continuous covered balcony invite light, air, and 360-degree views of the mountain valley into every space. Beneath a roof of post-tensioned concrete with generous overhangs, rooms unfold around this courtyard, evoking a feeling of being embraced by structure and landscape alike.

Materials are expressed with clarity and tactility — raw cast-in-place concrete, steel, and expansive glass blend modern refinement with warmth, while subtle ambient lighting articulates spatial thresholds and accentuates quiet architectural gestures. Sustainability is woven into the design through passive strategies and rooftop solar systems that provide hot water and thermal comfort.

Magnolia House also introduces Estudio Felipe Escudero’s first furniture collection, NEAR LIFE, where handcrafted forms inspired by nature and digital fabrication coexist like fossils from the future, complementing the home’s sculptural minimalism.

Type: Residential / Private House
Location: Puembo, Ecuador
Client: Private
Completion Year: 2022
Size: . 700 m²
Photography: Haley Lee + Vicer