Agape Productive Housing / Rama Estudio

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Agape Colectivo is a therapeutic space for the development of the body and mind. The founder of Ágape is a psychologist specializing in yoga and theater and needed to expand her space. Thus, a mixed-use volume is designed, which offers a larger area for multiple therapies and housing on the upper floor.

The project consists of 2 stages of intervention: the first is the construction of a mud wall as a retreat to shelter cars outside the lot and create a fully pedestrian space inside, prioritizing circulation in a quiet, green and natural space. The material resulting from the earthworks is used in this new enclosure.

The main access takes us directly to the center of the project, a natural oasis that will be populated over time. This landscape will be the first thing users see when they arrive. To the right of this is the existing building, a small house that houses therapists’ offices.

The second stage involves the construction of a new volume that embraces the center, with a transparent and permeable facade facing the central courtyard.

Ágape is built with a laminated wood structure, plywood panels for internal divisions and an insulating layer on the roof. Some metal pieces are also used to help with the structure and bahareque walls on the rear facade. All materials contribute to the quality and health of the space.

On the ground floor are the public areas, which include a yoga room, theater and concerts. At the center of the space are the bathrooms and, finally, an arts room for sculpture and therapeutic painting. On the upper floor there is an apartment complete with office and balcony.

The Agape structure works like a basket. The main facade is composed of a sequence of slender triangles constructed with sectioned laminated wood beams (0.038 x 0.18 x 5.60 meters). After being assembled on the ground, the triangles are fixed on a rod with metal feet that separates the wooden structure from the ground. This helps preserve the mud and wood walls, but also allows users to see outside when lying on the floor.

On the mezzanine, a thin reinforced concrete slab is connected by structural screws and metal straps to laminated wood beams, which are anchored to the front and back facade, thus weaving the “basket”. The roof is made up of laminated wood beams and a layer of plywood with thermal/acoustic insulation from BIOM (organic agricultural waste, rice husk).

We seek to make vernacular construction systems accessible. In this project, the bahareque construction process is mechanized through the use of mortar guns with a compressor, in this way considerable areas are covered with soil mixture in less time and with better compression. However, craftsmanship is not left aside when finishing the final layer.

Many details of the project are made manually by local artisans, from metal doorknobs, handles, lampshades, ceramic and wooden sinks, joinery and rice paper screens.

The project’s landscape is also thought of as an element that will provide more privacy and shade to the building, a forest that will grow in the center of the lot, with trees and plants endemic to the region.

Two cisterns are proposed for water collection and treatment, one for drinking water and the other for garden irrigation, which is supplied with rainwater and filtered water from sinks and showers. The sewage is connected to a biodigester located in the backyard, disconnecting the building from the public network.

The direct relationship that exists between the space and the user was decisive in the choice of the construction system, materials, ventilation, natural/artificial lighting and the location of the volume on the lot. This building breathes through its walls, which keep the space very cool and at a pleasant temperature. It uses the structure of the facade as protection from the sun. It is a space that optimizes resources and tries to minimize the impact when it is time to return to land.