This renovation and expansion master plan for the Hotel Quito envisions this 1950’s modernist hotel as the core of an “urban resort†in downtown Quito, Ecuador. The goal of the plan is to recapture the tourist and business market and become a destination for city residents.
This renovation and expansion master plan for the Hotel Quito envisions this 1950’s modernist hotel as the core of an “urban resort†in downtown Quito, Ecuador. The goal of the plan is to recapture the tourist and business market and become a destination for city residents. To do so, the complex will provide high-quality living, shopping, work, health and recreation facilities, most significantly a new 60,000-square-foot residential tower and a new 40,000-square-foot office building on the ten-acre site. The enlarged complex builds on the original design of the late Edward Durrell Stone, who sited the hotel with sweeping views overlooking a mountainous landscape and downtown Quito. The expanded complex will also offer a much wider variety of amenities including a casino, underground parking for 500 cars, three new ballrooms, a new health club and spa, and outdoor pool, gardens and recreational facilities. Curved single-pane glass is proposed to create an undulating transparent enclosure for the new residential tower and mixed-use building that continues the spirit of Stone’s original design. The massing of the tower will conclude a row of upscale residential towers that line this ridge of the city. Visible from all directions, the sculptural form of the glass tower will be a focal point in the city.  The climate of Quito is consistently mild year round so that minimal mechanical equipment is necessary for heating and air conditioning. The new buildings are designed to make the best use of natural ventilation and passive solar control. The complex will be up-to-date both in its facilities and systems efficiency.