Location: QUITO, Ecuador.

Architect: DIEGO GUAYASAMIN ARQUITECTOS.

The Architectural Project for the General Secretariat of UNASUR is a building located in Mitad del Mundo, Ecuador, which aims to create a space that reflects the objectives of the newly created headquarters. The building is designed to be socially inclusive, with open spaces for the community, a library, a multipurpose hall, an auditorium, and recreational areas. The project also includes the re-empowerment of Av. Manuel Córdova Galarza, the reforestation of the Hills Catequilla and Casitagua, the new Boulevard of Av. Equinoccial, sports fields, and parks. The building is a massive piece that rises and is projected as a metaphor of freedom. It is composed of a double skin, the first solid and blind, and the second light and transparent. The predominant materials used are concrete and steel, and the structure is reinforced with photovoltaic cells on the roof that generate 24% of the project’s own demand.

The interior architecture handles a coherent language with the exterior design and scale, through an atrium that develops high in the entire building as a large common precursor to all levels. The interior design proposes fluid areas, thanks to its configuration and use of materials. The minimalism of elements in the highlighted area outside the building and cleaning your architecture, and facilitating the organization of public and formal events. The building is a tribute to the culture of the sun, generating positive ideas for the region, and architectural formal aspects. The last phase of the construction of the building was completed in April 2018, with the Pablo Neruda Hall, a multipurpose space with a capacity for 1,000 people. Overall, the building is a balanced combination of functionality, symbiosis of conceptual and pragmatic in an iconic project understated aesthetics.

Photo credit: Sebastian Crespo.