Las Vegas Park

CAPA Studio

• Architects

Parque Las Vegas emerges as a pivotal urban and ecological intervention in the heart of Portoviejo, Ecuador. Conceived in the aftermath of the 2016 earthquake, the project redefines the relationship between city, river, and community, positioning landscape as both infrastructure and social catalyst.

Spanning 107,000 square meters, the park integrates ecological restoration, flood resilience, and public life into a continuous spatial system. Rather than imposing a formal gesture, the project operates through the recovery of natural processes, reactivating river dynamics, regenerating wetlands, and enabling biodiversity to return within an urban context.

At the same time, Parque Las Vegas establishes a framework for collective use, accommodating cultural events, everyday recreation, and large-scale gatherings. Through this dual condition, the project transcends the notion of a park as an isolated green space, becoming instead a resilient urban landscape where environmental performance and civic life are inseparable.

Parque Las Vegas is located in the center of the city of Portoviejo, on the right bank of the river that shares its name. Its construction took place during a significant period of transition following the earthquake that struck the city in April 2016. It is considered a symbol of the renewal that Portoviejo is undergoing. Every weekend, its generous green spaces host family gatherings and celebrations, as well as a variety of cultural events, both organized and spontaneous.

The design was guided by three main ideas: (i) the recovery of landscape quality to enable the return of wildlife, creating a space where people can find shelter from the intense tropical climate and reconnect with nature; (ii) the creation of spaces for cultural, social, recreational, and sports activities; and (iii) the adaptation of human interventions to nature and natural processes.

The construction of the park involved the recovery of riverbanks that had been previously filled in to maximize buildable land. These were removed to create a broad beach-like environment that protects the park from flooding. Today, bamboo and other riparian species such as frutillo and willow grow along the riverbank. Access to the river is achieved through a gentle ramp that crosses green terraces framed by large concrete steps, allowing safe interaction with the water.

This flood-tolerant landscape has performed successfully during major flood events in 2018 and 2024, and has been recognized as a model for climate change adaptation by Ecuador’s National Risk Management Secretariat.

An abandoned river meander was restored as a wetland, reestablishing riparian life. Shortly after its rehabilitation, a wide range of insects, amphibians, reptiles, and birds began to inhabit the area. A study conducted over two consecutive years recorded the presence of 105 bird species in 2023, an extraordinary number in an urban environment. The wetland also functions as a retention basin, absorbing runoff from the park’s hard surfaces.

A large plaza serves as the main entrance from the city’s administrative and financial center. Native trees with wide canopies were introduced to modulate scale and improve microclimate. This space is designed to host large social, cultural, and political events.

Adjacent to the plaza, an artificial hill of approximately 8,000 m² and 10 meters in height creates a serene setting for an open-air theater with a capacity of 2,500 people. From the top of the seating area, visitors can overlook the river valley and surrounding hills covered with ceibo forests. The slopes of the hill provide shaded, cool areas that invite visitors to gather and picnic under samán trees.