Tectonic Bloom

Competition: IDOARCH Galapagos Retreat 2025

Brief: International competition focused on sustainable hotel architecture through reuse, adaptability, and site-specific design.

Site: Puerto Ayora, Galapagos Islands

Typology: Eco-hotel

Software: Rhino 7, Grasshopper 3D, Blender, Adobe CC

Tectonic Bloom is an eco-hotel and bed-and-breakfast in Puerto Ayora, designed for environmentally conscious travelers and researchers. The project provides 11 guest rooms across two adjacent buildings, both adapted from underutilized structures. Rather than building anew, the design extends the existing buildings through two distinct top-up systems: one lightweight and modular in bamboo, the other grounded in volcanic stone. Together, they form a material dialogue shaped by climate, place, and identity.

The project responds to the widespread presence of unfinished and vacant buildings in Puerto Ayora by proposing a replicable model for adaptive reuse. By revitalizing existing structures, the eco-hotel reduces embodied carbon while offering an alternative vision for sustainable development rooted in local context.

Design decisions were informed by climatic analysis, vernacular research, and material studies. Solar exposure, prevailing winds, and humidity shaped passive strategies, while the conceptual framework of light and heavy guided the architectural expression.

Sustainability is embedded through both active and passive systems. Circular design principles inform on-site greywater treatment and energy generation via a pilot algae bioreactor, supported by PV-T solar panels and a heat exchanger for domestic hot water. Rainwater harvesting, atmospheric water generation, and low-flow fixtures address water scarcity, while shading, natural stack-effect ventilation and cooling reduce operational energy demands.