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| BIG completes first building in South America  After four years of construction, IQON rises 130 m making it the tallest building in the Ecuadorian capital Quito – a city with one of the highest elevations in the world.Traditionally a city of dense low-rise buildings, the skyline of Quito was re-imagined following the relocation of the city-center airport over a decade ago. With the skyline able to grow upwards, Uribe Schwarzkopf hired BIG in 2017 to designIQON – a 390,000 sq ft mixed-use residential building, including 215 residences, commercial units, office spaces, and a variety of amenities. In addition to IQON, BIG and Uribe Schwarzkopf's EPIQ Residences, located nearby, is slated to finish construction in 2023. IQON is designed as a vertical community, and an extension of the neighboring La Carolina Park, which visually continues up onto the building facade. The building features a notable curved corner, wrapped by terraces that continue around the building's perimeter with views of the park, city, and the Pichincha volcano. Quito's biophilia is carried from the public spaces below into the private domain of each home via the sculptural planters that are integrated into the architecture of the building. The planters become a unique concrete sculpture inside the apartments – creating space for the root zone of the tree for the apartment terrace above – while transforming the façade of the building into a celebration of Quito's verdant biodiversity. 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. IQON is the first mixed-use building in Quito to have a preliminary EDGE certification, granted by GBCI (Green Business Certification Inc.) and IFC (International Finance Corporation). write your comments about the article :: © 2022 Construction News :: home page |