A 24-story, 100-meter mixed-use tower is set to rise in Quito, Ecuador, the greenest capital in South America.
The BIG-designed building, dubbed EPIQ, is located on the southern tip of La Carolina Park in the center of the city on a quarter-of-a-circle site across from the new Quito subway. The building was designed with rounded corners to allow for panoramic views of the city while minimizing impact from neighboring buildings to daylight exposure. This rounded corner design creates a facade that is a continuously wrapping envelope, meaning the building has no back side.
At EPIQ’s base a pedestrian through-block connection forms a new gateway to a nearby park and the recently completed subway. Also located at the base are offices, lobbies, retail, and a restaurant. The above floors house residential and amenity spaces.
See Also: New social campus for innovators, tech leaders covers a full city block
As the building rises, soft openings are carved into the building mass to create eight district blocks. These buildings within a building are all connected via large, communal green terraces at different elevations to create a vertical neighborhood. The terraces also allow daylight to permeate the entire building.
The building’s colors and patterns are reflective of the earth tones and herringbone pattern of the tiles seen throughout the streets of Quito’s Old City. The facade pattern is based on the scale of the individual apartments with red and pink hues that give each volume its own identity.
The project is currently in progress.
Related Stories
Mixed-Use | Dec 18, 2019
BIG unveils River Street Waterfront Master Plan for Williamsburg
The project is a collaboration between BIG, Two Trees Management, and James Corner Field Operations.
Mixed-Use | Nov 26, 2019
Chicago’s first citizenM hotel to be part of Sterling Bay’s mixed-use Michigan Ave. development
bKL will serve as the project’s lead architect.
Multifamily Housing | Oct 25, 2019
Chicago’s long-gestating luxury condo tower nears construction
Helmut Jahn designed the project.
Mixed-Use | Oct 22, 2019
The LINK PHX mixed-use development opens in Downtown Phoenix
Shepley Bulfinch designed the project.
Mixed-Use | Oct 16, 2019
River Rock mixed-use community breaks ground in Chattanooga
The Beach Company is developing the project.
Mixed-Use | Oct 15, 2019
Skybridges connect SOM’s two trapezoidal Buenos Aires towers
The project aims to become the center of activity in the city’s Catalinas Norte business district expansion.
Mixed-Use | Oct 9, 2019
OMA’s KaDeWe combines retail, a hotel, and a rooftop park in one building
The project will establish urban connections and public spaces through its own internal organization.
Mixed-Use | Oct 1, 2019
KPF breaks ground on West Lake 66 mixed-use development in Hangzhou
The project hopes to reinvigorate the city’s deteriorated surrounding blocks.
Mixed-Use | Sep 16, 2019
Heatherwick Studio designs a giant planted pergola in Tokyo’s Toranomon-Azabudai district
Japan’s tallest skyscraper, designed by Pelli Clarke Pelli, is also part of the district’s redevelopment.
Multifamily Housing | Aug 19, 2019
Affordable, senior development rises in the Bronx
RKTB Architects is designing the project.
