MVRDV has been selected to build a new high-rise residential complex in the Puerto Santa Ana neighbourhood of Guayaquil, Ecuador. The project is MVRDV’s first major project in South America (preceded only by the Hola Holanda pavilion at the 2016 Bogotá Book Fair). It is designed for Uribe Schwarzkopf, one of Ecuador’s most prominent developers who have been transforming the fabric of the city of Quito through healthy urbanism, catalysed by collaborations with high-profile international architects such as Ateliers Jean Nouvel, Bjarke Ingels Group, Moshe Safdie, and Tatiana Bilbao Estudio.

Located on the waterfront a short distance north of the city’s charismatic Santa Ana hill, the design will become a prominent element of the city’s future skyline. In recent years this part of the city has been significantly developed; it is now in the process of being consolidated into a promenade that extends for over a kilometre, in which MVRDV’s project will play a role. The design by MVRDV will be unveiled later this year.

Main image by Wikimedia user JorgeAlejanDroo used under a CC BY-SA 4.0 license.