The easing of tower height restrictions in Quito, the relocation of the city’s airport and the upcoming inauguration of its metro system heralded a new era of densification for the Ecuadorian capital. Trying to steal some of the equatorial shimmer is a new generation of glittering skyscrapers of world names and a school of resourceful inhabitants who thrive in their lofty shadows. Rainbow Blue Nelson, our itinerant travel writer from Latin America, discovers how this rejuvenated cityscape is helping reinvigorate the country’s ambitions and offers a tantalizing design-focused tour of Quito.
Take our tour of Quito: the best of the city
Iqon
The facade of the Iqon building, by BIG
(Image credit: Bicubic)
As part of local developer Uribe Schwarzkopf’s plan to reshape Quito’s skyline using global architects, Iqon is the first South American brutalist album by Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG). Now officially the tallest building in Quito, Iqon features a spiny “pineapple skin” that creates plenty of nooks for planting trees on the balconies. Uribe Schwarzkopf and BIG have another urban forest, Epiq, which extends further south.
www.uribeschwarzkopf.com (opens in a new tab); grand.dk (opens in a new tab)
Quito Metro
The Quito Metro, photographed for Wallpaper’s Trip to Quito, as part of the Summer 2020 issue
(Image credit: Mark Mahaney)
The largest urban planning project in Quito’s history finished construction ahead of schedule and on budget in 2019, but was kept under wraps for four years as the city searched for an operator. Light is finally at the end of the 22.6 km long tunnel, with the new metro due to open in December 2022. Worth the wait? Absolutely. With 15 stations and sparkling branding, the network will reduce the city’s carbon footprint by 60,000 tonnes of CO2 each year.
metrodequito.gob.ec (opens in a new tab)
Forest
The restaurant area of Foresta, Quito
(Image credit: Courtesy of Foresta)
Much of the food on the menu at this sophisticated addition to Quito’s restaurant scene comes from chef Rodrigo Pacheco’s Bocavaldivia regenerative food forest in Manabí, in the south of the country. Pacheco and his team prepare tasty Amazonian larvae and grilled llama steaks in an indoor-outdoor space designed by Studio Felipe Escudero (a practice that is part of the Wallpaper* Architects Directory 2022). Its impressive glass roof puts the Ecuadorian forest on stage, from just about every angle.
forestarestaurante.com (opens in a new tab)
Roveta
Cafe Roveta, Quito
(Image credit: Photography: Rama Estudio)
Quito’s most accomplished architectural café, Roveta serves up excellent beers from Hacienda Santa Gertrudis in a lo-fi shelf structure of 100% recycled pine, cleverly inserted by Rama Estudio into the glass triangle at the foot of the Alianza tower. Mid-century masterpieces such as the Kohn Residence and Milton Barragán Atrium are within walking distance of this sustainable caffeine pit stop.
roveta.ec (opens in a new tab); @ramaestudioec (opens in a new tab)
Casa Parasito
The interior of Casa Parasito, a small Quito house with a view
(Image credit: Photography: Andrés Villota)
Built on a shoestring budget to take up as little space as possible on his grandmother’s rooftop terrace in trendy San Juan, Nicolás Viteri’s simple “parasite” structure is a clever counterforce to the dizzying densification that takes place further north. It’s now Airbnb after the founder of El Sindicato Arquitectura failed to convince his girlfriend to make the 12m² house his home. It’s a little tight for two, but the view is worth a thousand times the overnight rental.
elsindicatoarquitectura.com (opens in a new tab)
Guayasamin Foundation
The studio space of Fundación Guayasamín, the home and studio of Oswaldo Guayasamín in Quito
(Image credit: Ana Cuba)
A visit to the home and studio of Oswaldo Guayasamín in Bellavista is undoubtedly the cultural highlight of any visit to Quito. Guayasamín’s paintings and murals are displayed both in his studio and next to the Capilla del Hombre, a monolithic chapel made of volcanic rock. Designed by the artist himself, the museum was completed by his nephew, the architect Handel Guaysamín, after the artist’s death in 1999.
Qorner
In the Qorner Tower of Quito, an ultra-compact 28 m² apartment
(Image credit: Photography: Ana Cuba)
Moshe Safdie is carefully crafted Qorner offers a contextual response similar to BIG’s geometric gem. To experience Safdie’s airy interiors, rent one of the micro-units on the northeast side of the building. Developer Uribe Schwarzkopf has teamed up with architects Juan Alberto Andrade and María José Váscones to create a 28 m² studio called Doméstico; its Murphy beds and space-saving workstations have proven popular on Airbnb.
juanalbertoandrade.ec (opens in a new tab)
Somos
(Image credit: Courtesy of Somos)
Female-led design studio Interni transformed a dreary British-style pub into an earthy foodie hub for Quito’s friendliest chef, Alejandra Espinoza, in 2020. Somos’ superb tasting menu and wrap-around graffiti from Apitatan celebrate the main bioregions of Ecuador, from the Andean highlands to the Pacific coast, paying special homage to indigenous wisdom. Her shop is a treasure trove of organic chocolate, hand-woven crafts and local liquors.
somos.rest (opens in a new tab)
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