Quito: The Latest Architecture and News

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The Pan American Biennial of Architecture of Quito (BAQ2022) ended on November 18th. Organized by the Pichincha Provincial College of Architects of Ecuador (CAE-P), it has been held since 1978 with the aim of promoting dialogue, exchange, and reflection on architecture and the contemporary city. During this edition, the intention was to address the theme "Inflections: Seeing again", with the aim of providing a space for discussion and debate on architecture around the moments of inflection in history.

On the closing day, the winning projects for both the National Award and the Pan American Award were announced from among the nearly 60 selected finalists. At the same time, the winners of the Social Habitat and Sustainability Award were announced from among 8 selected finalists, as well as the two works that jointly won the Biennial Grand Prize. See all the winners below.

Felipe Escudero, founder, and principal of Quito-based Estudio Felipe Escudero (EFE), has unveiled Crystal City, his latest metaverse design for LEDY, one of the discipline's leading developers, and Decent Amusements, the district manager. In addition to a high-rise observation deck, an ice-covered marketplace, and a packed snow gallery, this new metaverse destination will feature Decentraland's tallest multi-purpose tower, Crystal Tower.

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Quito-based developer Uribe Schwartzkopf unveiled two residential projects in the capital of Ecuador: IQON designed by Bjarke Ingels Group, and QORNER, by Safdie Architects. IQON represents BIG’s first project in South America and the tallest building in Quito. QORNER proposes a mix of residences of varying dimensions, complete with amenities such as private terraces, gyms, spas, and pools. To create an engaging interface with the city fabric, a mix of shops, restaurants, and commercial spaces are proposed at the street level.

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In the field of design and construction, the question of gender is a point of conflict: who has the possibility of building? What are the alternatives for us architecture professionals? These are the questions that Taller General (re)think about. It is from these questions that Femingas, a participatory construction conference with a gender perspective, arose. These are manifested as an alternative to the construction of "mingas", days of joint work between the members of a community to achieve a common good.

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EseColectivo is an architecture studio formed by Belén Argudo, José de la Torre, Santiago Granda and Pablo Silva based in Quito, Ecuador. Their interests are focused on experimentation with alternative building materials, with an emphasis on technologies and logic. In their design process, they seek to reconcile low-impact sustainable strategies with the specific needs and constraints of each project, so that their results are heterogeneous and differ in the type of methodological and technical approach.

The experience of this team has not only been built from their works such as The Endemic House and House in a Corridor, but also through collaborative practices with architecture studios, cultural managers and related projects at local and international level, leading to the development of initiatives closer to architectural documentation, research and dissemination. Consequently, they created "La Parleta" - the first architecture podcast in Ecuador.

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Mexican firm Tatiana Bilbao Estudio has unveiled Botániqo, its new project in collaboration with the Ecuadorian firm Uribe Schwarzkopf in Quito, Ecuador. With over 12,000 km2, the project will cede 4,000 km2 to create a new transportation hub expected to service over 60,000 people per day, in addition to the creation of green space around the residential units.

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