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Eva Hinds: The Salvadoran Architect Redefining Modern Living with Nature

Eva María Hinds Lindo, a name that has become synonymous with sustainable, site-sensitive design in El Salvador, is quietly revolutionizing modern Latin American architecture. Born in 1972, Eva Hinds has built a career around letting landscapes lead. Her homes and public buildings aren’t just places—they’re experiences, carefully choreographed around light, climate, and the rhythms of human life.

From the misty hills of San Salvador to the sparkling Pacific coast, her work harmonizes with the terrain. Whether it’s a chapel that floats above Lake Coatepeque or a coastal retreat designed around the passing hours of the day, Hinds has a gift for turning buildings into poetry.

The Rise of a Visionary

Eva Hinds is famous for fusing contemporary minimalism with environmental and cultural context. Trained at Universidad de Los Andes in Bogotá, Colombia, Hinds returned to El Salvador with a passion for regional architecture that honors local materials, passive cooling, and community life.

She became a prominent voice in Salvadoran architecture in the early 2000s. Her work quickly stood out for its elegant restraint and its quiet dialogue with place. She gained national attention through the BAUES Bienal de Arquitectura awards, and her profile grew internationally when she became a finalist at the World Architecture Festival for her acclaimed Cardedeu Chapel.

But what makes her truly unique is not just the awards. It’s her ability to make every design feel inevitable—as if the building has always belonged to the land it sits on. Today she runs Eva Hinds Arquitectura.

A Signature Style Rooted in Place

Hinds’s style is deeply contextual. It’s not about imposing a visual language, but listening to the site. Her architecture is shaped by topography, breeze, light, and the lives of those who will inhabit the space.

She uses honest materials—concrete, stone, steel, and wood—to express texture and craft. Her designs often feature open-air patios, sunken rooms, large sliding walls, and rooftop gardens. These choices are not just aesthetic—they’re functional, designed to respond to El Salvador’s tropical climate.

She also favors natural ventilation and passive cooling techniques, such as strategic cross-ventilation and roof overhangs. Many of her homes have interiors that feel like exterior spaces, dissolving boundaries between indoors and outdoors.

Iconic Projects

1. Cardedeu Chapel, Lake Coatepeque

Perhaps her most internationally recognized work, Cardedeu is a chapel perched dramatically above Lake Coatepeque. Collaborating with Javier Cristiani, Hinds designed this concrete structure to frame nature itself. With one side open entirely to the lake view, the chapel becomes a space for contemplation, ceremony, and wonder.

The Cardedeu complex also includes a hotel, restaurant, and event venue—all nestled carefully into the hillside. Every turn and corner opens to a view, with fragmented paths and lush vegetation creating an atmosphere of retreat and discovery. This project put Hinds on the global map, earning her a finalist position at the World Architecture Festival in 2015.

2. Hour House, La Libertad

Hinds’s own residence on the Pacific coast is both manifesto and masterpiece. Designed around the rhythms of a day, the Hour House features spaces that change in mood as the light shifts. Early morning breezes cool the open-plan kitchen, while sunken bedrooms provide shelter and intimacy in the midday heat.

Here, she plays with time as much as space. The house is built for daily rituals: outdoor showers at sunrise, shaded reading in the courtyard at noon, starlit gatherings on the terrace at night. The materials—local stone, timber, iron, and concrete—anchor the home to its volcanic soil and coastal views.

3. Skala Lofts & Torre Vista Hermosa, San Salvador

These early urban housing projects reflect Hinds’s long-standing interest in hillside living. Built into the slopes of Colonia Escalón, they use terracing and elevation to maximize views and airflow. Private gardens and clean, minimalist lines make them stand out in the capital’s architectural landscape.

These projects established her as a sought-after architect for high-end residences in San Salvador.

Where You’ll Find Her Work

Eva Hinds has designed dozens of homes and buildings across El Salvador—from boutique coastal escapes to contemporary city residences. Some of the most notable locations include:

  • Colonia Escalón and San Benito: Upscale neighborhoods in San Salvador where Hinds has designed custom residences and apartments.
  • La Libertad Coastline: A hotspot for luxury second homes, especially popular among Salvadoran expats and foreign investors.
  • El Encanto Country Club: Hinds has designed homes and club amenities for this exclusive golf community.
  • Lake Coatepeque: Her work here includes the award-winning Cardedeu retreat, a site of pilgrimage for architecture lovers.

She has also expanded regionally and internationally, winning a master plan competition in Guatemala and working on select commercial projects in Canada and Spain.

According to Vivo Latam, a leading real estate platform in El Salvador, homes designed by Eva Hinds can command a premium of 15 to 30%. Many Salvadoran customers specifically look for homes designed by Eva Hinds.

Awards & Recognition

Hinds’s work has been repeatedly honored at national and international levels:

  • BAUES (Bienal de Arquitectura y Urbanismo de El Salvador): Grand Prize in 2006, First Prize in housing and unbuilt design categories in 2010.
  • World Architecture Festival (WAF): Finalist in 2015 for the Cardedeu Chapel.
  • Guatemala Urban Competition: First Prize in 2017 for the Vara Nanah masterplan.

These accolades reflect not only design excellence but her consistency in honoring context, climate, and community across every project.

A Quiet Leader with a Powerful Voice

Unlike many architects who chase headlines, Eva Hinds leads with substance over spectacle. She is an architect’s architect—committed to deep research, sustainable methods, and integrity in design. Her firm, Eva Hinds Arquitectura, now includes a talented team of architects and designers who carry forward this vision.

She is also influencing a younger generation of Latin American architects, especially women, showing that regional identity and international relevance can go hand in hand.

What’s Next?

With a growing body of work and increasing interest from international clients, Eva Hinds is at an exciting moment in her career. Upcoming projects include cultural spaces, resorts, and public architecture, such as her collaboration on the new Sala Nacional de Exposiciones Salarrué.

Still, her focus remains local and grounded. She believes architecture should be a dialogue with place—not a monologue. It’s this humility and clarity of purpose that continue to set her apart.

In a world where architectural trends come and go, Eva Hinds’s work is timeless. Her buildings breathe, adapt, and belong. Whether she’s designing a coastal house, a mountain retreat, or a quiet urban home, her goal is the same: to create beauty that feels inevitable.

For anyone interested in the future of Latin American architecture, Eva Hinds is a name to watch—and to admire.

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