Al Borde was founded by David Barragán and Pascual Gangotena in 2007 in Quito, Ecuador. The other principals are Esteban Benavides and Malu Borja, both of whom joined the firm in 2010. Al Borde often works on projects with low budgets; they attempt to turn scarcity of resources into an advantage, considering not just money, but also skills, knowledge, materials, property, or even friends and acquaintances as assets in the project. They built several houses and community projects in Ecuador, such as the Nueva Esperanza school (2009), and they regularly organize construction workshops.