Ciudad Quitumbe, a recent municipal urban development project in southern Quito, anticipates the construction of 11,000 homes distributed across approximately 60 blocks. Municipal regulations strictly define land use, meaning that concepts such as the construction and consolidation of the block edge, mandatory commercial use on ground floors, double-height pedestrian arcades facing main avenues, and minimum and maximum building heights, among others, had to be strictly respected.
The project occupies one of these blocks, on a corner that gains importance by being formed by two avenues where "El Trole"; the city's mass transit system, will soon operate. Additionally, the project is located a mere 400 meters from Quito's new bus terminal.
Our reflection led us to consider the impact that a development of this magnitude will have on the future inhabitants of the project and the sector, where residential complexes must necessarily become clearly legible and identifiable landmarks that allow inhabitants to develop a sense of individuality and belonging.
Therefore, the project seeks to establish its territory and become an architectural object that, despite having countless facets and spaces endowed with their own character, is understood as a single unit with its limits and contents.
The complex is structured around a pedestrian circulation axis that divides it into two basic sectors: high-rise housing (4 to 8 floors) and single-family homes (3 floors). This axis completely traverses the block and culminates at the corner of Quitumbe and Cóndor avenues, highlighting the hierarchical scale of this location; transparency and an invitation to enter are the objectives.
The required parking spaces (1 per dwelling) are located mostly underground, generating three large open spaces on the surface within the block's interior, which serve as gardens and additional parking, intended to be repurposed as play areas for children.
The parking area has a single entrance and three exits, above which the 3 communal rooms required for the complex are placed. These floating elements serve to stitch the buildings together and generate a continuous facade where the voids formed within it are also pedestrian access points and transparent windows framing the northern views.
In this way, the building envelops with its materiality an interior of lower density and heights, whose use is primarily pedestrian and for green spaces.
The dense use of the continuous facade to consolidate the block edge allowed for the exploration of certain hypotheses:
Is it possible to design an apartment with a single lighting front?
How flexible can this typology be?
What typology can allow for the highest densities without sacrificing light, air, and privacy?
These decisions, in addition to successfully densifying the built environment, allowed the common and access spaces to be shaped as true meeting places for neighbors, providing more intimate areas for the user.
White prevails throughout the complex as a unifying element for the different components. Color is used to characterize the distinct sectors and give them their own personality. Additionally, an easily maintained sheet metal skin, conveying an industrial air, has been used in various places.
Given the climatic characteristics of this sector—which is rainier and colder than the north of the city—the communal circulations in the buildings are protected by a corrugated polycarbonate skin, which shares its industrial language and geometry with galvalume.
The complex aims to demonstrate that a massive real estate development for lower-middle socioeconomic strata can not only be dignified and provide comfort to the user, but also contribute to consolidating a better city for everyone.
