Abstract:

Architecture as a Link between Territory, Community, and Production

ACUS La Floreana – Santo Domingo, Ecuador

In recent decades, Ecuador has experienced an accelerated process of migration from rural areas to urban centers. This phenomenon has not only transformed the social structure of cities, but has also weakened the community, productive, and cultural bonds of the countryside. The search for employment, education, and better services has driven thousands of people to abandon their territories of origin, generating a growing disconnection between rural communities and the urban systems that should integrate them.

Within this context lies ACUS La Floreana, located in Santo Domingo, a space that, despite its environmental and social potential, is currently fragmented from its immediate surroundings. The lack of articulation with the community, the absence of spaces for gathering, training, and production, as well as the lack of infrastructure that promotes local development, have limited its positive impact on the territory. Instead of consolidating itself as a node of integration, the ACUS operates in an isolated manner, without fully taking advantage of its relationship with the population or with the landscape that surrounds it.

My architectural project emerges as a response to these issues. It is based on the need to reconnect the ACUS with the community, not only physically, but also socially, productively, and culturally. The proposal understands architecture as a med