Bjarke Ingels Group’s (BIG) tallest tower is the international firm’s first project in South America and the tallest on the Quito, Ecuador skyline.
Many residents of the 430-foot-tall building on Avenida de los Shyris have apartments that overlook Parque La Carolina, a huge recreational area with volleyball courts and soccer fields. A curving corner offers others a view of the Pichincha volcano in the distance.
A press release for IQON, as the building is formally known, classified its concrete-clad, stacked volumes as “pixels,” or boxes-for-living-in that rise 32 stories to max out views and add terraces to many of the building’s 215 apartments.
Notably, BIG integrated planters into the 390,000-square-foot building that are strong enough to hold trees. When the plants outgrow their containers, they can be transferred to the park across the street or to other parts of the city.
“We’ve tried to take all the iconic qualities of Quito—such as the enjoyment of living in one of the most biodiverse places on the planet, in a city on the equator where the seasons are perfect for both human and plant life—and bring that experience into the vertical dimension,” said BIG Founder and Creative Director Bjarke Ingels, in a statement. “IQON is an entire vertical community of individual homes; an extension of La Carolina Park that now climbs all the way up to the rooftop.”
A plaza on the ground floor hosts stores and features public art. Up top, there are common terraces and a lap pool. Sandwiched between the highest and lowest floors are amenities galore, including a squash court, bowling alley, and spa.
BIG and IQON’s Quito-based developer Uribe Schwarzkopf have another apartment building, EPIQ Residences, in the works nearby. That project will be finished next year.
