Project

Quito: Reimagining an Andean City

Four areas of study: The Generic City, Downtown Quito, Financial Center, The Valleys

Quito (Ecuador), a Latin American Andean city, presents a variety of scenarios in which, both architecture and urbanism, can improve and respond to the health and environmental changes. By having a variant urban context, defined by topography, Quito offers the possibility to explore and deepen different scales and urban conditions considering both objects and the city. Thus, four extreme and distinct urban scenarios have been chosen for this project: downtown colonial Quito, the financial center, a low-income settlement in the south of the city and one of the suburban valleys. All of them were selected to act as a platforms for generating provocative responses that engage people with environmental issues and the natural world while prioritizing equality and the environment over consumerism. Therefore, each zone works as a growing microcosm to enhances a fairer and more inclusive society.

In order to acknowledge the evolution and progress of each proposal, the work on each area is represented in a regular grid. The first row of each proposal has its explanatory text, concept and diagrams. The next rows are organized in two directions. Horizontally the grid presents 3 different scales: the system, the urban area and the building. Vertically, a time frame of 75 years (2025-2050-2075) is applied to evidence the evolution and development of each urban system. The aim of this structure is to use is as a design tool for representing each concept while presenting the systems´ urban growth and their environment a impact on both public and private spaces.