Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Thursday, Oct 02, 2025

This Carbon-Negative Cabin in Ecuador Sits Lightly in a Tropical Paradise

This Carbon-Negative Cabin in Ecuador Sits Lightly in a Tropical Paradise

The architects’ tiny, modular retreat uses sustainable materials and building techniques to leave the surroundings pristine for the next generation.

When architects Diana Salvador and Javier Mera came together to design Huaira Cabin, a 430-square-foot retreat in Puerto Quito, Ecuador, they identified sustainability and a connection to nature as two major goals. "We use the cabin once a week as our refuge outside the city," Salvador says. "Contact with nature is a very important part of our lives. Huaira Cabin reflects our ideology; we prefer to live simply."

Built on farmland located two and a half hours from Quito, Huaira Cabin is situated on the banks of a small river, named Roncador, and surrounded by cocoa, orange, and banana crops. Puerto Quito is part of Ecuador’s tropical forest and experiences a year-round temperature of about 77 degrees Fahrenheit and plenty of rainfall.

In response to this climate, Salvador and Mera raised the two-level home off the ground on gabions, or cages filled with rocks, to prevent flooding. The void between the earth and the ground floor traps cooler air beneath the interior of the cabin, ventilating and cooling it. Double walls-plywood on the interior and Tetra Pak on the exterior-and a double roof-glass on the interior and Tetra Pak on the exterior-allow cooler air to flow through the layers and wrap around the home. Perforations in the walls and the flooring facilitate cross ventilation.



The cabin is elevated by a system of gabions that act as its foundation and prevent flooding. The rear facade features a teak deck where visitors can sit outdoors.



The two-level cabin opens to the outdoors via a folding glass door.

The architects tied the cabin’s interior to the natural landscape in three different ways. The roof’s metal layer slides open to reveal the inner glass membrane. "The removable layer allows me to control direct sunlight without losing the connection to the sky and the environment," Salvador says. On the rear facade, a floor-to-ceiling glass wall and a folding glass door open the interior to teak decking, the river, and the lush vegetation surrounding the cabin. And on the front facade, a cantilevered glass shower provides the sensation of bathing outdoors.



Perforated plywood walls in the living area facilitate cross ventilation.



A large metal staircase near the kitchen folds up and provides access to the loft-like sleeping area.

An open floor plan provides flexibility for the owners and continues the theme of connection to the natural surroundings. The living room, kitchen, and a bathroom are located on the lower level, while the loft-like bedroom is accessed via a moveable staircase. "Every space has a function, but also gives the sensation of being outdoors," Salvador says. "Taking a shower allows you to see how cocoa is farmed. And at night, instead of counting sheep to go to sleep, you can count stars. Cooking and eating become a meditation exercise."



A sparse array of furnishings keeps the flow between the front and back of the cabin clear.



The loft-like sleeping area offers views of the forest.

Though it’s not apparent, the cabin features a modular quality that helps protect the natural landscape. "It’s low-impact and is made up of assembled pieces, like a large-scale Lego construction that can be transported in a single truck," Mera says.

In fact, Huaira Cabin boasts a negative carbon footprint. "We wanted to create a solution without generating more problems or waste," Salvador says. "Design and construction have to be done responsibly. As a client and as a mother, it’s important for me to think about future generations and the quality of the environment they’re going to inherit." Salvador wanted a retreat that would be economically sustainable, too. "When we stay in the city, Huaira can be rented out as a tourism getaway," she says. "This modality allows us to obtain income to pay for the financing."



The outer layer of the roof slides open, revealing a glass ceiling that lets in sunlight and frames views of the sky.



The cantilevered glass shower on the front facade features opaque banding that creates privacy.

In Quechua (the language spoken by Indigenous populations in the Peruvian Andes), "huaira" means wind. It’s a befitting name for a home treads so lightly on the land. "Huaira is the sum of multiple simple processes that solve a great complexity," Mera says. "It’s low-cost, replicable, scalable, modular, expandable, and adaptable to multiple weather conditions." And for Salvador, Huaira Cabin is as tranquil as it is dynamic. "The purpose was to create a continuous experiment that connects to the environment," she says. "It sounds a little bit romantic, but sadly, only a few people know how beneficial nature can be."



Lush vegetation and a small river mark the natural landscape that surrounds the cabin.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
New Eye Drops Show Promise in Replacing Reading Glasses for Presbyopia
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
Top AI Researchers Are Heading Back to China as U.S. Struggles to Keep Pace
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Trump and Starmer Clash Over UK Recognition of Palestinian State Amid State Visit
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Did the Houthis disrupt the internet in the Middle East? Submarine cables cut in the Red Sea
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
×