Designing with the Territory: Juan’s Decolonial Vision for the Amazon
Reclaiming architecture as a cultural act of resistance in the Ecuadorian Amazon.
From the heart of the Ecuadorian Amazon, in Puyo, Pastaza, visual artist and cultural researcher Juan is reimagining what architecture can be. His work sits at the intersection of design, identity, and resistance, a response to the tendency of modern architecture to overlook local context in favour of imported ideals.
For me, architecture is both a cultural expression and a poetic act of resistance.
His is shaped by the belief that buildings should belong to the land, that they should breathe with the climate, reflect the aesthetics of the territory, and hold meaning for the people who inhabit them.
Across much of Latin America, public spaces are often designed as top-down impositions, detached from their social and environmental realities. Juan’s projects challenge that. Each one is conceived as a social dialogue, not an architectural statement, an exchange between culture, community, and landscape.
I believe in designing with the territory, not over it. It’s about questioning postcolonial frameworks and imagining new, decolonial futures rooted in the wisdom and beauty of the Amazon.
To bring these visions to life, Juan uses Gendo to visualise and communicate his ideas. The platform helps him convey the intricate relationship between climate, material, and identity, from the texture of local wood to the humid air that defines the region’s atmosphere.
Tools like Gendo help me visualise and communicate these ideas more clearly, enabling a richer representation of biomes, materials, and social connections that define each project.
For Juan, design is not just about form or aesthetics, it’s about reclaiming agency.
Perhaps my work won’t always be heard by the authorities but it gives me hope to see that local people can think outside the box, reclaim their agency, and demand more dignified and meaningful public spaces.
Juan’s Prompt
A photorealistic architectural rendering of an Amazonian library inspired by organic forms and indigenous architecture. The building has a flower-like shape with four curved wings extending from a circular central core. The structure combines concrete, guadua bamboo, and tropical hardwood, featuring large glass walls that open to the surrounding jungle.
The roof is made of overlapping organic layers resembling leaves or petals, and the central dome is built with woven bamboo and glass, creating a breathable, luminous canopy.
The building is surrounded by lush tropical vegetation, palm trees, and a reflecting pond, under warm golden daylight. Style: sustainable architecture, tropical modernism, organic design, soft cinematic lighting, natural materials, realistic vegetation, 16:9 ratio, high detail.
Through his practice, Juan reminds us that architecture is not only about constructing buildings, it’s about building understanding, rooted in place, culture, and imagination.
