WILD PLACES
PIKAIA LODGE Coplaza-Arquitectos The tin/polyurethane roof helps keep rooms cool
Coplaza-Arquitectos was founded by Humberto Plaza Lavezzari (Humberto Plaza’s father) in 1965. The fi rm is based in Guayaquil, Ecuador, and currently employs eight architects. Coplaza-Arquitectos is currently working on a 210-bed Marriott hotel in Guayaquil featuring a convention centre, three offi ce buildings, one apartment and 900 car parking spaces. The practice is also working on the Aqualina Tower in Punta Carnero, Ecuador, a condominium building with an infi nity pool, poolside juice bar and a health centre. Past projects include Iguana Crossing, a small hotel in the Galapagos Islands.
Plans to paint the building so the metal
resembled wood were shelved in order to retain authenticity. “The building is very monochoromatic and structual,” says Plaza. “Instead of conceding to the struture, we decided to celebrate it. The structural ele- ments became the aesthetic motif.” A sandwich was used for the roof using tin/polyurethane. This is effective in con- serving heat and – when combined with good natural ventilation – means the air conditioning doesn’t have to be used all the time. Rooms are cool enough to sleep in with just a fan, or an open window. “This roof is extremely light and that made construction lighter and cleaner,” says Plaza.
Indigenous interiors To give the building an indigenous fl avour, lava rocks from the island were used as a wall covering. “They’re too heavy to use as bricks and the heat transmission is high. However, they look great on the outside of blockwork,” says Plaza. “Because there’s no endemic archi- tecture, we needed some element which could be clearly recognised and understood by locals and visitors. In many Galapagos buildings lava rocks are the only identifying feature.” The lodge has its own independent energy supply, using wind and solar energy and bio-diesel, made from mango skins. The design, with natural light and ventilation, means energy consumption is low for a hotel.
CLADmag 2015 ISSUE 2
Finding workers was difficult – those who are qualified tend to be very expensive and very lazy, so we had to bring them from the mainland
A number of challenges arose during the
process. Development is limited on Santa Cruz, so it took more than fi ve years to complete the paperwork to enable the hotel to go ahead. In addition, there are no building reg- ulations on Santa Cruz and development restrictions are put in place by residents who can be more concerned about protecting their livelihoods than the environment. This left the team to create its own code of conduct. “We did the project the best way we could, with an honest effort to get things right. We didn’t cut any corners,” says Plaza. There isn’t a proper port in Santa Cruz, so moving materials from ship to island was com- plicated and risky. “We achieved it through good luck and a lot of prayers,” says Plaza. Labour presented another challenge, due
to diffi culties in fi nding qualifi ed workers. “Those who are qualifi ed tend to be very expensive and sometimes very lazy, so we
needed to bring supervisors and engineers from the mainland,” he says. Frei-Shepherd was responsible for the interiors, which Plaza describes as straight- forward and elegant. “It’s not fl ashy, but manages to be both modern and conserva- tive at the same time,” he says. Plaza says some people might consider the
design to be rather industrial, but there’s a practical reason for that: “We had to consider maintenance, because fi xing things on the islands is always a challenge. You have to think how easy it is to clean the windows and paint the outside and how often you will have to do that,” he says. “You can’t buy anything on the Galapagos Islands, so if there’s a prob- lem with a fi xture you have to go to Ecuador. Also labour is a problem. So everything has to be heavy duty and practical. Whatever the design, it had to be easily maintained, and this determined many of the decisions.” Pikaia Lodge has created a new way in which to experience the Galapagos and provided Santa Cruz with its fi rst piece of statement architecture. Let’s hope their sensitivity towards the environment will be emulated by future developers – even in the absence of building regulations. ●
Kathryn Hudson is a former editor of Leisure Management and a freelance design, travel and health writer based in Cornwall, UK
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