In 2013, Quito, Ecuador’s capital, opened its new airport, which had been relocated from the metro’s center to an agricultural site 12 miles northeast of the city. Since then, Quito’s skyline, which before that move had been a dense array of mostly low-rise buildings, has been reshaped by new, vertical structures that include the 24-story tower QORNER, designed as a “hillside of terraces” by Sadfie Architects and opened in 2020; and the 24-story mixed-use EPIQ Residences, designed in the shape of a quarter circle by Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), and scheduled to open in 2023.
Uribe Schwarzkopf was the developer on both projects. That firm also hired BIG in 2017 to design IQON, a 390,000-sf mixed use building with 215 apartments, commercial units, office space, and various amenities. IQON, BIG’s first project in South America, rises 427 feet, which will make it Quito’s tallest building when it opens next year.
These towers “represent the ongoing transformation of Quito into a cornerstone of architecture, design, and innovation,” states Tommy Schwarzkopf, Uribe Schwarzkopf’s co-founder.
IQON is positioned as an extension to the 165.5-acre La Carolina Park. The building features a notable curved corner, wrapped by terraces that continue around the building’s perimeter with views of the park, city, and the Pichincha volcano.
![The 427-ft-tall IQON will be in sharp contrast to Quito's mostly low-rise skyline. Image credit: Pablo Casals Aguirre](/sites/default/files/inline-images/_DJI_0005%20copia%202_2288px.jpg)
Individual “pixels” are stacked 32 floors high and rotated to provide the best possible views while simultaneously creating terraces for the apartments. “Each apartment floor features through-units—apartments that have terraces on both the north and south facades—which not only allow for views across the entire city, but also offer the opportunity for cross ventilation and a sense of openness,” explains Thomas Christoffersen, a Partner at BIG.
Bjarke Ingels Group's high-rise design highlights Ecuador’s biodiversity
The building integrates greenery wherever possible to take advantage of Ecuador’s temperate climate and ecology. (The country reputably has the most plant species per square meter in the world.) Quito’s biophilia is carried from the public spaces below into the private domain of each home via the sculptural planters that are integrated into the architecture of the building. The planters become a unique concrete sculpture inside the apartments, while transforming the façade of the building into an exclamation of the city’s verdant biodiversity.
![Trees planted in terraces at IQON](/sites/default/files/inline-images/_0X3A2122%20copia%202.jpg)
Once the vegetation planted on the terraces outgrows the planter, it can be replanted in parks all over the city.
The building’s ground floor plaza includes public spaces, retail units, and public art. It also provides a pathway that connects the park to the rest of the neighborhood. Upon entering the lobby, the material palette transitions from the raw, pared-back exterior to a more refined aesthetic: marble stone pavers complement the custom millwork reception desk, and concrete touch points nod to the façade. Deep emerald-green tones are utilized on the ceiling tiles, mailboxes, and through to the elevator lobby, located beyond a blackened-steel portal.
Other amenities include an integrated lap pool and terraces at the top of the building, a gym and squash court, a spa, a bowling alley, entertainment rooms, and a business center. IQON is the first mixed-use building in Quito to have a preliminary EDGE certification, granted by GBCI (Green Business Certification Inc.) and IFC (International Finance Corporation).
Joining BIG and Uribe Schwarzkopf on IQON’s building team were the structural engineers Rene Lagos Engineers and Fernando Romo, the wind consultant CCP Wind Tunnel, the civil consultant Geo Estudios, mechanical consultant Trialmech, plumbing consultant Incoayam, and electrical consultant Consel.
Related Stories
| Aug 11, 2010
PCL Construction, HITT Contracting among nation's largest commercial building contractors, according to BD+C's Giants 300 report
A ranking of the Top 50 Commercial Contractors based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
Webcor, Hunt Construction lead the way in mixed-use construction, according to BD+C's Giants 300 report
A ranking of the Top 30 Mixed-Use Contractors based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
Report: Fraud levels fall for construction industry, but companies still losing $6.4 million on average
The global construction, engineering and infrastructure industry saw a significant decline in fraud activity with companies losing an average of $6.4 million over the last three years, according to the latest edition of the Kroll Annual Global Fraud Report, released today at the Association of Corporate Counsel’s 2009 Annual Meeting in Boston. This new figure represents less than half of last year’s amount of $14.2 million.
| Aug 11, 2010
First CityCenter projects earn LEED Gold
CityCenter announced today that it has received three Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design LEED Gold certifications from the U.S. Green Building Council for: 1) ARIA Resort's hotel tower; 2) ARIA Resort's convention center and theater; 3) Vdara Hotel. ARIA and Vdara will open in December on the Las Vegas Strip and are the first of CityCenter's developments to be LEED certified.
| Aug 11, 2010
And the world's tallest building is…
At more than 2,600 feet high, the Burj Dubai (right) can still lay claim to the title of world's tallest building—although like all other super-tall buildings, its exact height will have to be recalculated now that the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) announced a change to its height criteria.
| Aug 11, 2010
Spa resort in harmony with mountain setting
The Sparkling Hill Resort and Wellness Hotel in Vernon, B.C., looks as if it was chiseled out of bedrock and jutting from the mountainside. Designed by the Victoria, B.C., office of Cannon Design, the 240,000-sf resort has 152 guest rooms with floor-to-ceiling windows and spa-like bathrooms, as well as a signature 20,000-sf whole-body wellness spa with treatment rooms designed to feel like they...
| Aug 11, 2010
Triangular tower targets travelers
Chicago-based Goettsch Partners is designing a new mixed-use high-rise for the Chinese city of Dalian, located on the Yellow Sea coast. Developed by Hong Kong-based China Resources Land Limited, the tower will have almost 1.1 million sf, which includes a 377-room Grand Hyatt hotel, 84 apartments, three restaurants, banquet space, and a spa and fitness center.
| Aug 11, 2010
CityCenter projects get LEED Gold
MGM Mirage and Infinity World Development have received LEED Gold certification for the first three CityCenter projects: the ARIA Resort hotel tower, ARIA Resort convention center and theater, and the Vdara Hotel (above). The CityCenter developers anticipate Gold or Silver LEED certification for the project's remaining developments, which include a Mandarin Oriental hotel, a 500,000-sf retail a...
| Aug 11, 2010
RMJM unveils design details for $1B green development in Turkey
RMJM has unveiled the design for the $1 billion Varyap Meridian development it is master planning in Istanbul, Turkey's Atasehir district, a new residential and business district. Set on a highly visible site that features panoramic views stretching from the Bosporus Strait in the west to the Sea of Marmara to the south, the 372,000-square-meter development includes a 60-story tower, 1,500 resi...
| Aug 11, 2010
'Feebate' program to reward green buildings in Portland, Ore.
Officials in Portland, Ore., have proposed a green building incentive program that would be the first of its kind in the U.S. Under the program, new commercial buildings, 20,000 sf or larger, that meet Oregon's state building code would be assessed a fee by the city of up to $3.46/sf. The fee would be waived for buildings that achieve LEED Silver certification from the U.