Salon in the Air is a dining space conceived as a moment of suspension — hovering above the edge of a valley, overlooking the vast Andean landscape. Salon in the Air transforms a daily ritual into an experience of presence and calm, offering workers a place to pause, reconnect, and breathe while framed by distant mountains and open sky. The architecture is designed to feel light and elevated, as if floating over the terrain, allowing the horizon to become an active part of everyday life.

Rather than treating the dining area as a purely functional room, the project reimagines it as a shared refuge within an industrial setting. Long communal tables, generous openness, and uninterrupted views encourage social interaction, contemplation, and collective rest. The space is equally adaptable for informal meetings and gatherings, supporting moments of exchange beyond mealtime and reinforcing a culture of wellbeing within the workplace.

The structure is conceived as a fully demountable and prefabricated system, allowing it to be transported, reassembled, and recontextualized with ease. A planted roof crowns the pavilion, enhancing thermal comfort, reducing environmental impact, and offering a green presence when viewed from other areas of the factory — turning the building itself into part of the landscape.

Salon in the Air proposes architecture as a tool for care: light, adaptable, and sensitive to both people and place, where leisure, work, and nature coexist in quiet balance.

Architect: Felipe Escudero — Estudio Felipe Escudero
Type: Industrial Dining Space / Multifunctional Pavilion
Location: Andean Region, Ecuador
Client: Private
Completion Year: 2017
Program: Dining area, informal meetings, leisure space
Structure: Prefabricated, demountable steel system
Roof: Vegetated / planted roof
Materials: Steel structure, industrial flooring, glass, planted roofing system