Diseño arquitectónico del centro de herencia natural y cultural: educación e investigación para la conservación de la flora nativa del Río Monjas, barrio La Esperanza

Abstract

This graduation project develops the design of a Native Flora Training and Research Center in the La Esperanza neighborhood, within the Monjas River sub-basin in Quito—a periurban area marked by loss of native vegetal cover, invasion of exotic species, soil imperviousness, river contamination, and high socioeconomic vulnerability of the population. This set of issues reveals a degraded socio-ecological system and noncompliance with environmental management instruments, justifying the need for specialized equipment that articulates science, community, and ecological restoration. In response, the project proposes a building understood as a living laboratory and community node, integrating research programs, environmental education, and citizen participation to recover native flora and strengthen territorial appropriation. The theoretical framework relies on concepts of hydrographic sub-basins, nature-based solutions, green-blue infrastructure, ecological restoration, and sustainable-educational architecture, drawing on urban and architectural references that relate landscape, water, and public space. The proposal is implanted on an old industrial lot by the river, organizing the complex into public, transition, and ecological strips, with research, education, and community gathering modules linked to nurseries, constructed wetlands, orchards, and interpretive trails. Technically, it incorporates bioclimatic strategies, low-impact materials, rainwater harvesting, and biofiltration systems, in coherence with local and national environmental restoration regulations, positioning the center as a replicable model for other Quito sub-basins and a concrete tool to advance urban resilience and environmental education.