“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,” says BIG’s founder Bjarke Ingels. “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.”

BIG approached the design in characteristically bold fashion. “IQON’s architectural identity is defined by its ‘stripped back’ facade.” the BIG website says. “The raw, exposed concrete simultaneously functions as the building’s structure. Individual ‘pixels’ are stacked 32 floors high and rotated to provide the best possible views while simultaneously creating terraces for the apartments.”

The building consists of 220 residential apartment units ranging from one to three bedrooms in size. Some apartments even have panoramic views of the city and the nearby Pichincha volcano. “Each apartment floor features through-units – apartments that have terraces on both the north and south facades – which not only allows for views across the entire city, but also offers the opportunity for cross ventilation and a sense of openness, ” explains BIG partner Thomas Christofferson.

The country’s rich biodiversity is fully embraced in the IQON plan. “Celebrating native trees and plants, the building integrates greenery wherever possible to take advantage of Ecuador’s temperate climate and ecology – the country with the most plant species per square meter in the world,” the company website says. Trees and shrubs adorn each balcony, and the ground floor features a public vegetable garden.

The building’s ecosystem is intentionally circular. As the company explains, “The building also acts as an urban tree farm; once the vegetation planted on the terraces outgrows its planter, it can be replanted in parks all over the city. In this way, the building becomes part of a green cycle – from park to building, and back to park.”

The lower floors incorporate room for five retail shops and 36 commercial offices, and the inside of the ground floor offers a soft contrast to the building’s sharp-angled exterior. “The ground floor plaza includes generous public spaces, retail units, and public art. This central plaza functions as a new east-west pathway, connecting the park to the rest of the neighborhood,” the BIG website says. “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 touchpoints nod to the facade. Deep emerald green tones are utilized on the ceiling tiles, mailboxes, and through to the elevator lobby – an area located beyond a blackened-steel portal.”

IQON also boasts a rooftop pool and terrace, sports and spa facilities, a music room, and a bowling alley.

“IQON…represent[s] the ongoing transformation of Quito into a cornerstone of architecture, design, and innovation,” said Uribe Schwarzkopf’s co-founder Tommy Schwarzkopf. “As the first residents move in and businesses begin to take space in the building, we are looking forward to seeing [it] come to life and become part of the fabric of the city.”

The post BIG’s First South American Project is the Tallest Building in Quito first appeared on Dornob.

Humans have been living in cities for thousands of years, and the United Nations estimates that by 2050, 68 percent of the world’s population will have moved to urban areas. There are lots of clear benefits to city life, like access to jobs, culture, restaurants, shopping, mass transit, and each other, but the noise, stress, and constant activity that comes with it can wear on even the most ardent urbanist over time.

There are plenty of ways we can make our cities more livable and relaxing, like bigger green spaces, pedestrian-only zones, and the replacement of loud diesel vehicles with greener, less polluting technologies. But what about our personal spaces? Can’t they be designed in a way that satisfies our desire for a connection with nature, even if we live in an urban high-rise?

Architect Aquiles Jarrín has completed an interesting experiment with “Bosque Apartment,” an intervention in a 1970s apartment in the historic center of Quito, Ecuador. The 112-square-meter (1205-square-foot) space features modern, often industrial materials, but it’s laid out in such a way that it conveys the feeling of living in an “indoor forest.”

“The project starts from an investigation carried out with the owners, from which several fundamental ideas emerged such as the importance of generating less defined spaces, the central role of the social area, diffuse divisions between spaces, and a strong presence of nature within the apartment,” says Jarrín.

The apartment already had an existing “air and light well” in the form of an interior courtyard and lots of textural concrete, much of which was previously hidden behind interior walls. The renovation knocked down these walls, including the ones blocking off the courtyard. New doors and windows blast the once dark space with daylight, air, and access to a garden that’s exposed to the elements.

“Without walls, the columns of the concrete structure acquired a strong presence, inviting us to work with this element as a basic unit of the project,” Jarrín explains. “In addition, this configuration of elements triggered a poetic dimension of the work, [in which] the columns ceased to be columns [and] started being called trunks. This metaphor of space defined the entire design and understanding of the project. The idea of not being in a domesticated space arose, inviting one to enter a wilder world, ‘a forest.’”

The architect introduced new elements with the same proportions as these concrete “trunks,” inserting them at random diagonal angles to break the rigid patterns imposted by human creations and mimic something more natural. By overlapping these black metal “logs,” new floor levels were created. Standing among them are matching built-in elements packed with shelves, surfaces, and storage cabinets.

Instead of one continuous plane, the floors step up in some areas and recess in others, creating a dynamic landscape. The introduction of wood floors brings in another reference to nature while setting off the black metal and concrete. Red brick, a rainbow of books on the shelves, and lots of indoor plants add pops of color and vitality. The cherry on top of this striking design is the sunken indoor pool overlooking both an indoor cactus garden and the outdoor courtyard.

The post Urban Apartment Styled to Feel Like a Tranquil Indoor Forest first appeared on Dornob.

The “House of Flying Tiles” contains surprises and delights at practically every turn. Some observers, approaching its exterior screen of clay tiles dangling from wires, find it very strange. What could the purpose of this contraption possibly be? Is it purely artistic? Not exactly. It defines a small area of the yard for private lounging without cutting off access to fresh air and views of the sky, while simultaneously shading a facade that consists almost entirely of glass. But it also sets the mood for a quirky residence designed for optimal engagement with nature — and optimal daylight for reading.

Architect Daniel Moreno Flores made it his mission to ensure the house was highly customized to his clients, expressing their unique identity while meeting all their needs and desires. For starters, the setting needed to remain as pristine as possible, with not a single tree removed to make way for the house. Ultimately, “House of Flying Tiles” was oriented to views of the adjacent mountains above all else. Thankfully, privacy is not much of an issue its rural location, making all of those glazed walls more livable than they might seem.

Flores explains that “the design of the house was born in a search of the essence of the owner, for which it is inquired on many of the topics related to it. From that essence, [I] identified a lot of creativity, a playful spirit, innocence, exploratory features, surprise seeking, sensory experiences, aim to discover, valuing processes, [and an] interest in mutations and changes in space. In this process, much of the characteristics of the owner’s character were absorbed and personal meanings were worked on. Due to the passion of the owner for the illustrations, it was established that it was fundamental to get involved in the owner’s logic and make illustrations as a design methodology (a book was made).”

“After understanding this constellation of ideas, we sought to encourage spaces that allow timelessness so that the owner was able to immerse in reading. These spaces seek an intensification in the relationship with some externalities such as the mountain, the low vegetation, the sky, and the Guirachuro (a local bird species). For the location of the house, an event was held with the owner in which we met to be able to witness the sunrise. This was fundamental to understand where the sun rises and to have that relationship in mind during the whole project.”

The house makes use of abundant natural and local materials like Abeto wood, reclaimed eucalyptus staves from an older home in the city, and clay tiles. The slanting planes of its exterior create diagonal lines connecting to the views or nearby trees and give the house a dynamic feel. All of its volumes are arranged in a way that creates “spaces that are discovered” as you enter. Even the angles at which light will enter the house at different times of year have been considered, with some glass configured so that rays of sunlight will enter the home vertically on the equinoxes.

The living room, dining area, and kitchen on the home’s lower level are bright and. A private, darker chamber containing the bedroom and bathroom is also set within this main volume, its roof creating one of the upper platforms and its exterior covered in open shelving. In place of conventional doors, bookcases and panels slide to reveal access.

To get to the office area one level up, simply pull down a set of ladder-like steps, and swing them back up again when they aren’t needed. A second, higher interior platform contains a reading nook, and yet another ladder grants access to the roof.

If one thing’s for sure, it’s that there’s certainly no shortage of heights and angles from which to enjoy the land in this house.

The post Glass-Walled “House of Flying Tiles” Designed With Reading in Mind first appeared on Dornob.

The natural beauty of the Ecuadorian highlands is the setting for a stunning two-level home from Diez + Muller Arquitectos. Los Chillos House is a glass box set upon a base of stone, mixing natural and modern elements for a warm and welcoming abode.

The home is built into a hillside, providing a remarkable view of the surroundings. The stone base gives the home a strong visual and literal base, anchoring it to the natural hillside environment. The upper glass volume provides balance, giving the structure a light, airy and warm look.

The home’s entrance is accessed via a wood and stone bridge that leads over an enclosed sunken courtyard. Just past the entrance, the stone wall gives way to a steel and glass level with an open floor plan.

The private areas of the home and the bedrooms are on the lower level, gaining ample natural light from the courtyard that rests under the entrance bridge.

The lower level opens up to the enclosed courtyard: a sunny, secluded spot featuring local materials such as wood and stone. A sunny grass slope leads gently up and around to the front entrance. In the courtyard grows a small tree that will grow and change over the years, providing an ever-changing landscape from the overhead walkway and through the glass patio doors.

The post Stacked Blocks: Glass-Top Stone-Base Home in Ecuador Hills first appeared on Dornob.