Quito's New Skyscraper Feels Carved, Planted, and Lived In - Yanko Design

Qapital is a 32-storey, 420-foot residential skyscraper in Quito, Ecuador, designed by Kengo Kuma and Associates. The tower sits beside La Carolina Park in the central business district, aligning with Quito’s green urban edge and a broader trend of internationally designed residential towers. The building contains 509 micro studio apartments sized 226 to 389 square feet, requiring disciplined use of space. It also includes three commercial floors, a rooftop pool, spa, pet spa, and shared amenity spaces. The concept emphasizes compact private units while providing communal facilities that compensate for limited apartment area and support a shared living environment.

"Qapital seems to be asking whether micro-living can feel less like shrinking your life and more like living inside a larger, shared landscape. The tower will be Kengo Kuma and Associates' first project in Quito. Planned at 32 storeys and 420 feet tall, it will sit beside La Carolina Park in the city's central business district. That placement is important because the building is not being dropped into a neutral skyline. It will stand along one of Quito's major green edges, joining other internationally designed residential projects by studios such as BIG and Safdie Architects, also developed by Uribe Schwarzkopf."

"The building will contain 509 micro studio apartments, ranging from 226 to 389 square feet. Those numbers are small, and there is no real way around that. A studio of that size demands discipline from its occupants. Every object has to earn its place. Every surface has to work harder. But the project seems to understand that, which is why the private apartments are only one part of the story."

"Qapital also includes three commercial floors, a rooftop pool, spa, pet spa, and shared amenity spaces. The pitch is not simply "live in a small apartment." It is closer to: live compactly, but let the building give you back some of the space your unit cannot hold."

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