01-05-2017

El Atrapasueños, Natura Futura Arquitectura and Ruta 4

Ruta 4, Natura Futura Arquitectura,

Installation,

Natura Futura Arquitectura and their latest project - with Ruta4 from Colombia - have created an installation that is a tangible manifesto of the community, landscapes and strategies for local revival, all as part of the TSL Canoa 2017 workshop in Ecuador.



  1. Blog
  2. Sustainable Architecture
  3. El Atrapasueños, Natura Futura Arquitectura and Ruta 4

El Atrapasueños, Natura Futura Arquitectura and Ruta 4 Natura Futura Arquitectura and their latest project - with Ruta4 from Colombia - have created an installation that is a tangible manifesto of the community, landscapes and strategies for local revival, all as part of the TSL Canoa 2017 workshop in Ecuador.


Every year, Taller Social Latinoamericano (TSL) brings together 230 architecture students from 19 Latin-American countries with architecture collectives - five this time. Organised by ONEA Ecuador (the national association of architecture students) and promoted by CLEA (the Latin-American confederation of architecture students), this year's event focused on Canoa, a coastal town in the province of Manabí, which was badly affected by the M7.8 earthquake that struck it on 16 April 2016.
Ecuadorian firm Natura Futura Arquitectura and the Colombian designers from Ruta 4, worked with the students in their team to create an installation with a name that is a promise - El Atrapasueños - or dream-catcher, closely connected with the context.
Indeed, the project is the output of a careful study of the site it stands on, with the goal of proposing a reference point for the community in an attempt to revive both community life and tourism that has suffered greatly as a result of the natural disaster. So, they thought of building a multifunctional structure, made from simple, easy-to-source materials like bamboo, wood, iron pipes, steel cables, recycled material salvaged from the beach, rope and concrete. They did this both by making the most of the local artisan techniques, including the crafting of the dream-catchers - namely a flexible wooden circle with woven rope mesh formed so it can hold the weight of a person.
The installation is anchored to the ground at three points only and sits lightly on the beach. A sleek, elegant ramp leads to the platform where the actual dream-catcher is located - a real linchpin because it is the symbol of the union between the earthly world and the world of dreams that can come true here, and of hope, also to do something concrete.
So, El Atrapasueños is a collective operation to reactivate the community's social life, giving Canoa a truly beautiful, poetic landmark. The project - like El Portal Invisibile, in the mountains, uses the creative and transformational power of architecture to make better use of the territory.

Christiane Bürklein

Workshop directors: Natura Futura Arquitectura + Ruta 4
Location: Comunidad de Canoa, Manabí, Ecuador.
Participants: 60 architecture students from 19 Latin-American countries
Project area: 20 m2
Year: 2017
Images: Ambar Calvo, Natura Futura

×
×

Stay in touch with the protagonists of architecture, Subscribe to the Floornature Newsletter