Al Borde Arquitectos from Ecuador are redefining their paradigm on the architects’ role in society and have created a documentary about the practice of the post-crisis generation of young architecture studios. The LafargeHolcim Awards 2014 jury for Latin America praised the young architects based in Quito for their urban revitalization project that draws on the rural tradition of barter. This form of non-monetary exchange enables the refurbishment of housing in the historical center of the city for residents without sufficient monetary means. The project was considered “a promising economic model to literally mine cities rather than nature” by the jury.

Construction of the Acknowledgement winning urban remediation project in the historic center of Quito is well under way and on track for completion by the end of 2016. Not only is the dream of restoring the building fast becoming reality, the approach of Al Borde Arquitectos appeared in the largest international survey of contemporary architecture in North America at the Chicago Architectural Biennial.

The project Under Construction in Quito is about a form of “social economy” and its implications for people and the physical environment they inhabit. Despite contemporary global urbanization and its attendant economy, there are still rural areas today where barter is the main mode of exchange. The project draws on this tradition and proposes bartering as a practice in an urban context for the refurbishment of the historical center of the city – a process carried out by people without sufficient monetary means. Here, bartering replaces typical capital investment with a direct form of exchange between two parties. For example: the owner of an abandoned house in need of restoration and tenants without monetary means but willing to exchange their labor as a form of rent.

Read project feature in 4th Holcim Awards 2014/2015 (flip-book)

David Barragán of Al Borde Arquitectos explains how his Holcim Awards Acknowledgement winning project translates a rural practice of barter into an urban context. “Under Construction: Restoring an urban historical center” in Quito, Ecuador recommends an approach that encompasses the use of a near-extinct form of trade to rescue threatened historical centers.

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The 12 winning projects of the Holcim Awards 2014 for Latin America focus mainly on adaptability and social performance, and show how sustainable construction is developing multi-disciplinary responses to the challenges facing design and building. A public park above a series of reservoirs in Medellín, a low-impact timber rainforest center in Costa Rica and a pedagogically-aligned school in Mexico were awarded gold, silver and bronze.

The jury noted that Under Construction is one of few entries in the competition that suggests a method rather than espousing a specific design proposal. The recommended approach encompasses the use of a near-extinct form of trade to rescue threatened historical centers. Additionally, the strategy involves the reuse and recycling of existing material stocks. Materials that cannot be directly reprocessed are re-inserted into new use-cycles: wood for making furniture, stones for making foundations and construction debris for making gardens. All in all, the design promotes not only a promising economic model, but most importantly one put to work to literally mine cities rather than nature.