“Isla Tortuga” park, in northern Quito, Ecuador, was selected as the site for the implementation of Yaku prototype (water in Kichwa), a modular piece of urban infrastructure that combines public space with sustainable rainwater management and biodiversity. Designed to be installed on any surface, its purpose is to collect rainwater, store it, and promote its infiltration into the ground, emulating its natural cycle. Yaku encourages people to linger in public space while raising awareness of the vital relationship between water and the city.
As cities have grown rapidly, they have become increasingly disconnected from nature, even losing sight of the water cycle, through which water seeks to infiltrate the soil, flow toward rivers, and be purified. Yaku proposes a public-space setting that makes this tension visible, exploring how water can flow through urban structures and establishing a dialogue between natural and artificial.
With this idea in mind, the prototype was developed. On one hand, Corten steel surfaces rise as hard, industrial structures. Their solid character symbolizes modern processes of urbanization. This structure protects visitors from the sun and rain. In contrast, permeable elements emerge, inspired by solutions found in nature and ancestral knowledge. Porous volcanic stones receive the water and evoke ancient filtration systems. Hand-carved, they take on a sculptural character that recalls the memory of low-tech objects, which required each process to unfold at its own pace. These stones become urban elements that reconnect the passersby with the ancestral value of water. Their dripping keeps the resource present at the surface and directs it toward an infiltration garden.
There, the careful selection of native plant species aims to provide habitat for local biodiversity. The planter incorporates filtering substrates and an underground storage system that collects rainwater in its deepest layer, acting as a subterranean reservoir for periods of drought.
This project was the result of a collective effort across multiple scales. At an institutional level, the support of the Cities LAB of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), together with the Secretariat of Habitat and Territorial Planning of the Municipality of Quito and the team at El Sindicato Arquitectura, demonstrated how interinstitutional collaboration can achieve a sustainable and visible impact in cities. At a local level, residents were involved through community engagement sessions, allowing them to take an active role from the development stage onward. This process fostered a sense of ownership and enabled the prototype to become part of their everyday surroundings.
Yaku is more than a module; it is a statement on how urban design can reconcile the city with natural cycles. It is public space and environmental education. Its potential lies in its ability to be replicated across different contexts, inviting us to rethink the relationship between the built and the natural, and reminding us that water is not an invisible resource, but an essential protagonist in the life of our cities.
