El Cisne: Architecture, Landscape, and Design Through the Lens of ORCA Design
In high-end residential architecture, the difference lies not only in form, but in the ability to create a retreat with a character of its own. A space that conveys emotion through volume, light, and materiality. With this intention, El Cisne was conceived as a residence that departs from the conventional codes of Florida’s luxury market and, through its distinctive silhouette, introduces a different way of living.
Behind its creation is ORCA Design, an Ecuadorian studio co-founded by architects Marcelo Ortega, Christian Ortega, and José Ortega. The studio brings together more than 35 years of architectural experience with the perspective of a new generation. Over the years, ORCA Design has worked across residential projects, hotels, hospitals, schools, and institutional buildings, and today develops projects in more than twelve countries across four continents.
El Cisne represents ORCA Design’s first international project and the first project developed in collaboration with ZAFRA. Bringing the original concept to life meant working within regulations, timelines, and processes that were different from those the studio had previously encountered. ZAFRA’s experience in the construction of luxury residences helped carry the project through execution while preserving the design decisions and finishes throughout each stage of construction. That first collaboration continued to evolve, and today ORCA and ZAFRA are part of the same group, specializing in the design and construction of projects across different countries.
El Cisne’s location on Florida’s west coast, directly facing the water, shaped many of its architectural decisions. The views, sunsets, vegetation, and palm trees surrounding the property were incorporated into the project from its earliest stages. The living room, kitchen, and dining area were designed as open spaces with a direct connection to the outdoors, allowing the landscape to become part of everyday life inside the residence.
The name of the house comes from two references. The first is the image it creates over the water, emphasized by a palette of whites and soft tones. The second is more personal: its owner is known in English as “The Swan,” a name the architects chose to translate into Spanish as a nod to their Latin American roots.
Inside, the primary bedroom is one of the spaces that best expresses the relationship between the house and its surroundings. With 270-degree views of the water, the suite includes its own bar area, spa, and terraces. Its layout offers different perspectives of the sunset while maintaining a constant visual connection with the landscape, one of the central ideas behind the design of the residence.
Another distinctive element of El Cisne is its semi-oval staircase. The steel structure was assembled in Ecuador and later transported to Florida for installation, a process that required coordination across design, engineering, fabrication, logistics, and construction between the two countries. The staircase also reflects the way ORCA and ZAFRA worked together to solve the challenges that emerged between design and execution.
That coordination extended to the engineers, consultants, builders, and collaborators involved throughout the different stages of the residence. Technology also played an important role in the process, used by ORCA to visualize spaces, study proportions, and communicate design decisions before construction. The goal was to preserve the original idea through a process that began with the first sketches and continued through the final finishes.
Some time after El Cisne was completed, the architects returned to the property as guests. Seeing the kitchen in use, the living room occupied, and the different spaces incorporated into the residents’ daily routines allowed them to experience the house from a different perspective. For the studio, seeing how a home functions once it is inhabited is as important as the architecture that defines it.
El Cisne opened a new international chapter for ORCA and ZAFRA, whose work together now extends across the Americas, Africa, and Asia. Their upcoming projects include a 2,600-square-meter residence in Accra, Ghana; an oceanfront home in Cancún, Mexico; and a residence in one of Houston, Texas’ established residential areas. As the studio continues to grow, its team follows a simple principle: every new project should be better than the one before it.
