Danish architecture studio BIG has completed their first project in South America, adding a dramatic pixelated flair to Ecuador’s capital city skyline. At 436 feet tall, the IQON residential and commercial structure (built for developer Uribe Schwarzkopf) is now the tallest building in Quito. Its rippling exterior of offset balconies doubles as a piece of art for the rapidly changing city.

BIG approached the design in characteristically bold fashion. “IQON’s architectural identity is defined by its ‘stripped back’ facade.” the BIG website says. “The raw, exposed concrete simultaneously functions as the building’s structure. Individual ‘pixels’ are stacked 32 floors high and rotated to provide the best possible views while simultaneously creating terraces for the apartments.”
The building consists of 220 residential apartment units ranging from one to three bedrooms in size. Some apartments even have panoramic views of the city and the nearby Pichincha volcano. “Each apartment floor features through-units – apartments that have terraces on both the north and south facades – which not only allows for views across the entire city, but also offers the opportunity for cross ventilation and a sense of openness, ” explains BIG partner Thomas Christofferson.

The country’s rich biodiversity is fully embraced in the IQON plan. “Celebrating native trees and plants, the building in...