Tallest Building in Ecuadorian Capital Complete

Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) has completed a 32-story tower that is the tallest building in Quito, the capital of Ecuador, and the practice’s first project in South America, Building Design reports. The 130-m tall IQON building has 215 apartments, commercial units, office space and a lap pool and terraces at the top of the building. IQON’s curved façade features stripped back raw concrete “pixels,” which are apartment terraces rotated to provide the best possible views of the park, the city and the Pichincha volcano. Each has a sculptural planter integrated into the fabric of the building, creating root space for trees on the terrace of the apartment above. “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 BIG representative said. Designed for developer Uribe Schwarzkopf, the building also features a gym and squash court; a spa; a bowling alley; and entertainment rooms. A second BIG project for the business, the 24-story EPIQ building, is due to complete in the same neighborhood next year.