Bioconstruction in the Ecuadorian Amazon Al Borde on Architecture as an Extension of the Chakra

Witoca is an association of Amazonian farmers located in Huaticocha, in the buffer area of the Sumaco Biosphere Reserve. Since its beginnings, the organization has expressed a deep questioning of the ways of life attributed to the Ecuadorian Amazon, which tend to oscillate between exotic folklorization and urban idealization. They consider both references precarious and representative of the impoverishment of rural identity. As an alternative, their proposal is grounded in recovering the chakra* while drawing on contemporary technological advances.

This vision of life articulates three interconnected dimensions: a productive one, focused on improving the cycle of coffee cultivation, processing, and commercialization; a social one, aimed at balancing human well-being with economic benefits; and an educational one, centered on sharing knowledge with collaborators and neighboring communities. Although one dimension may predominate over the others depending on the character of each building, the three of them are always integrated.

Since 2020, Witoca has led a process of territorial transformation that began with their technical training in coffee cultivation. Through various funding sources, this effort led to the need for infrastructure capable of collecting and processing the beans to generate value-added products. What began as an operation structured around an on-site internal road then evolved into a master plan. This proposal integrates four new buildings, two adaptive reuses, and the recycling of elements from an old structure. This approach allows production, community life, and learning to coexist within the same territory, while enabling Witoca's future growth.

The productive dimension focuses on optimizing industrial flows and resource management through infrastructure that integrates new and existing elements. The Amazonian Agroforestry Hub incorporates four new buildings: the Coffee Processing Plant, which centralizes the production line; the Food Innovation Plant, dedicated to coffee, chocolate, and other Amazonian superfoods; the Biofertilizer Laboratory; and a service warehouse with bathrooms. These structures are articulated with the drying canopy, the wet mill, and the water treatment system, which remain operational components of the complex. As a strategy of efficiency and resource optimization, the structure of a pre-existing metal shed was recycled and incorporated into the construction.

The social dimension materializes through the adaptive reuse of two existing structures and the addition of a third. The café works as the public interface and the connection to the outside. An existing two-story house is transformed into administration on the first floor and a communal kitchen and dining program on the second. This latter space acts as the social heart of the Hub, reflecting an understanding of eating as an activity that creates affective bonds. Away from the public area, the residential sector is organized through a flexible housing prototype designed as a system capable of adapting to the diverse family configurations of Witoca's members.

The educational dimension is anchored in the library and the public space. The pathways that link the complex transform movement between buildings into a learning experience about the territory. Meanwhile, the plaza (public square) becomes a stage for community gatherings and celebrations. Under this premise, all productive and social spaces are conceived with a pedagogical intention; for example, the communal kitchen doesn't only fulfill a logistical function but also operates as a laboratory for experimenting with and recovering regional food diversity.

For Witoca, every corner is an opportunity to build a contemporary Amazonian identity. By integrating the three dimensions (productive, social, and educational) into each intervention, regardless of its primary use, architecture becomes a platform for exchange and a driver for the community's autonomy.

Prioritizing resources that come from the chakra and the high rainfall of the Amazon defines the architecture of the Agroforestry Hub. Roofs with generous overhangs protect each level. Above them, a minimal layer of substrate allows vegetation to grow, providing thermal comfort and protecting the waterproof membrane from solar radiation. The structural concept arises from the need to support these roofs. While compression is resolved through timber frames, an external system of tension rods rigidizes the structure. In this way, the interior frames remain free of diagonals, allowing the construction system to adapt to different building typologies.

The structure is made from a kind of fast-growing timber, known as pigüe. Historically considered a poor-quality wood because it is soft and lightweight, it is actually a highly efficient resource that reaches fifteen centimeters in diameter in just four years. The walls are built using quincha*, which adapts better to the irregularity of pigüe than conventional masonry. These walls made with local earth not only ensure material availability but also provide the thermal inertia* needed to balance the interior climate. If there is any material with a lower environmental footprint than wood, it is earth. The result is an architecture that takes advantage of the inherent irregularity of the material.

The Amazonian Agroforestry Hub articulates Witoca's vision of the symbiosis between human beings and territory by making visible the complete cycle of matter. Just as the management of the chakra encompasses everything from cultivation to the processing of the fruit, the architecture operates under a logic of circular use. By integrating the design into this productive system, it becomes another component of the local ecosystem.