Marble Arch Mound architect reveals plans for another hill-themed project

MVRDV has revealed proposals for another hill-themed project, a major mixed-use scheme in Ecuador consisting of six towers up to 117m in height.

Known as The Hills, it is planned for a waterfront site in the port city of Guayaquil and is the Marble Arch Mound architect’s first project in South America.

Designed for Quito-based developer Uribe Schwarzkopf, it will contain housing along with an ice-skating rink, a spa and a yoga studio.

The scheme’s towers will be connected by a plant-filled podium level - described as a “terraced green valley” - containing amenities including a sports field and a large amphitheatre.

这将是厄瓜多尔第一个提供清洁能源的大型房地产项目，该计划的目标是100%由光伏板和热泵供电。这些建筑还将收集雨水用于花园。

The project is part of a wider urban plan for Guayaquil, the country’s second largest city, which will see the creation of a new public pedestrian promenade along the banks of the Guayas River.

MVRDV founding partner Jacob van Rijs said the tower complex is “almost a city in itself… a mini skyline”.

“It was important for us that the project was not just an island in the city, but that it offered access for others as well, that it would give something back in the form of a public plinth,” he added.

“So it’s a very exciting space for people to go to, somewhere that we hope people can meet with friends.”

Uribe Schwarzkopf general manager Joseph Schwarzkopf said the project, the firm’s first in the city, “represents a milestone for eco-friendly design in Ecuador”.

今年早些时候，MVRDV在英国引起了不受欢迎的媒体关注，伦敦西区的人造山丘大理石拱丘项目成为了全国的笑柄。

Westminster council’s deputy leader Mervyn Caplanresigned from his positionover the scheme, which the practice later said that itshould have walked away fromafter it was “pushed out of the construction process”.

Some plants on the mound’s slopes had dried out through lack of water, while large sections were covered with plastic. The mound’s lift was also exposed at the top, sticking out “like a sore thumb” in the words of the practice.