San José is a coastal residential project conceived as a dialogue between minimal foot-print and lush tropical terrain. Designed by Felipe Escudero, San José is a low-density residential masterplan set within three hectares of undulating topography, where individual homes are distributed as floating volumes that gently hover above the land, framing expansive views toward the sea.

The project is organized as a constellation of minimal boxes — houses of varying sizes and configurations — positioned to maximize privacy, orientation, and visual connection to the ocean. Rather than flattening the site, the architecture adapts to the natural slopes, allowing the terrain to remain present and active between and beneath the built forms. Each dwelling is conceived as a quiet retreat, open to light, breeze, and horizon.

Shared amenities are shaped in contrast to the rational clarity of the residences. Organic, fluid geometries define communal spaces for sport, wellness, and leisure, embedded within dense tropical gardens. These shared structures dissolve into the landscape, blurring the line between architecture and vegetation, and fostering a sense of collective life rooted in nature and movement.

San José proposes a model of coastal living where restraint and openness coexist — where minimal architecture enhances rather than competes with its surroundings, and where the experience of dwelling is defined by light, topography, vegetation, and uninterrupted views of the sea.

Type: Residential Masterplan / Private Housing
Location: San José, Santa Elena Province, Ecuador
Client: Private
Design Year: 2019
Site Area: 3 hectares
Program: Private houses, gym, sports facilities, leisure areas, shared tropical gardens
Concept: Floating volumes, topographic integration, organic communal spaces