Water Stories

The project starts with water as an ecological system rather than a surface. In the high Andean forest, moisture in the air is caught by ferns, epiphytes and mosses before moving slowly through canopy, soil and watershed. That cycle shapes a project that combines forest restoration with a few small shelters for short stays and contemplation.

The land, once logged and grazed by cattle, is being reforested in three zones that respond to altitude, slope, vegetation and soil. In the upper west, where grazing exhausted the soil, pioneer species begin to rebuild fertility. On the east, a cooler creek forest benefits from denser canopy and a stream. The lower bird forest holds the most established native vegetation, where watercourses used by local and migrating birds meet.

Architecture is part of the restoration rather than a separate destination. The shelters offer temporary accommodation and places for reflection and environmental learning, so visitors experience the processes being restored around them.

The steep ground was studied through repeated physical models. Instead of flattening the mountain for platforms, the team set the shelters into the existing slope, each one a lookout tied closely to the vegetation. The two cabins built so far are compact and sit lightly, sharpening awareness of mist, plants, terrain and changing light. Short stays help pay for the long work of bringing the cloud forest back.