Jean Nouvel’s recently designed residential development, Aquarela, in Quito, Ecuador is under

construction. In collaboration with local architectural developer Uribe & Schwarzkopf, the 136,580-
square-metre organically designed project blends with the surrounding mountainous landscape.
Located in a “sector surrounded by green areas and large squares, strategically located and easily accessible, within the best
residential area of the Cumbayá Valley”, Aquarela includes nine residential stone-cladded blocks. Ateliers Jean Nouvel
 imagined an approach that could mimic the context, with curved balconies wrapping the intervention, overfilled with
greenery. These rocky gardens connect the residents to the natural outdoors and strengthen the integration of the building.
Creating an imposing entity, with its flora and its facades, Nouvel, the 2008 laureate of the
annual Pritzker Prize, combined a relatively simple design with the natural elements of the site. With
the first phase set for completion in 2020, the project will soon reveal a clubhouse that includes a
bowling lane, an ice rink, a yoga studio, a music room, a mini-golf, and a cinema.
•Status: Under construction
•Starting Date: 2017
•Developers: U&S - Uribe y Schwarzkopf, Fideicomiso Aqua
•Program: Residential Building
•Area: 75 000 m² / 130 500 m²
•Location: Cumbayá, Quito, Province de Pichincha, Équateur
•Design Team: Jean NOUVEL – Ateliers Jean Nouvel
•Associate Architects: Alberto MEDEM – Humboldt
Arquitectos S.L
•Project leader: Alberto MEDEM assisté de María ROJO
•Architects: Cristina DE LUCAS, Guillermo GOMEZ, Eduardo
HERNANDEZ, Roberto HOYOS, María ROJO, Jesús
RODRIGUEZ
•Landscape: Isabelle GUILLAUIC
•Images: Cristina DE LUCAS, Eduardo HERNÁNDEZ,
Sabrina LETOURNEUR, Jesús RODRIGUEZ, María ROJO
•Graphics: Eduardo HERNÁNDEZ, Eugenie ROBERT
•Interior Architecture: U&S – Uribe y Schwarzkopf
•Local Architects and engineers: Uribe y Schwarzkopf
Ingenieros y Arquitectos S.A
•Consultants: CIEL ATELIER, GREENSTAR, GRUPO SAM