Estudio Felipe Escudero Unveils CROMA
A Large Scale Public Artwork in Quito, Ecuador to Highlight Minimal Tactics to Enliven Public Space and Energize Civic Engagement in the Face of Political Turmoil
CROMA forms a temporary orange road spanning 10,000 square meters of public space in Quito’s historic center, a UNESCO World Heritage site in collaboration with paint brand Pintulac to celebrate one of their colors of the year
Quito, Ecuador (October 2, 2024) - Earlier this fall, Estudio Felipe Escudero unveiled a major public installation in Quito, Ecuador, aimed to activate the city’s historic center (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) and encourage communing, celebration, and activations across public space. Forming a massive, orange pathway that spans the 1.6 km from Basílica del Voto Nacional and the Palacio de Cristal Itchimbia, the pathway crosses from the oldest to newest part of the center, echoing the landscape of the growing city nestled in a valley high in the Andes. CROMA was developed in coordination with the city’s urban planners and conservationists to draw in activity to significant areas of the city that are under-recognized for their significance and potential, highlighting the potential for minimal, low-cost solutions to enlivening public space in the face of decreasing funding for public programs and increasing violence. The project will be on view through the end of 2024.
Estudio Felipe Escudero was commissioned by Pintulac to create a series of new paint colors for 2024, and conceived of a range of bright, compelling hues. In order to celebrate orange, which was chosen as one of their colors of the year, Escudero proposed CROMA. The energy of the project is meant to parallel civic initiatives to revitalize the city center, perhaps best seen in the investment in the city’s first metro line, which opened in 2023 and traverses the center.
Though Quito’s historic center is an incredibly well-preserved monument to Latin American history with significant buildings and monuments from the colonial era, it is sparsely inhabited and rarely visited by locals for anything other than civic functions. It is, in many ways, symbolic of traditions and patterns that are no longer working for a country in flux, and set up simply to cater to tourism and honor a backwards looking view of the country and its political realities. Using non-toxic paint that will wash away over the course of a few months, CROMA winds through cobblestone streets, urban stairways, and plazas, drawing energy back into this area and encouraging locals and visitors alike to explore and discover the incredible history, architecture, and lore of the city’s core.
“Orange is a color of joy, enthusiasm, and vitality; it stimulates and energizes while also generating warmth, comfort, creativity, and optimism,” noted Felipe Escduero. “I was thrilled that Pintulac was excited by the idea of creating a large-scale public work in Quito’s historic center with this color, and it has been a joy to create a pathway through some of the city’s most significant sites. Ecuador has been in a period of major instability, and there is a lack of meaningful engagement between neighborhoods, communities, and social classes. As residents of the city, we so often move through quickly, passing from place to place, not noticing the landscape around us. Quito’s center has the potential to bring us together, but is underpopulated and under-appreciated. CROMA encourages a new interaction with the city – a fresh, joyful, and intentional engagement with our cultural heritage.”
Estudio Felipe Escudero is a multidisciplinary architecture and design studio based in Quito known for creating inspiring, dreamlike spaces and objects across various scales. The studio was organized in coordination with the Municipality of Quito and commissioned by paint brand Pintulac to celebrate one of their colors of the year – a bright, vibrant orange. This project celebrates the power of color and highlights the majestic and once booming urban heart of Quito fostering and encouraging community interaction.
About Estudio Felipe Escudero (EFE)
Estudio Felipe Escudero (EFE) is an multidisciplinary architecture and design studio that creates inspiring, dreamlike spaces and objects across various scales. Founded by architect Felipe Escudero in 2017 in Quito, Ecuador, the studio now has a second location in Madrid, Spain and works on a wide range of projects internationally, united by an organic and contemporary signature aesthetic that is bright, engaging, and draws inspiration from nature in innovative ways.
The studio’s primary focus is architectural projects, ranging from private residences to urban plans. The studio has designed plans for multi-residence buildings, museums, restaurants, and universities, and realized projects that have won accolades and recognition from major international publications. Some of EFE’s most celebrated projects include the sweeping Magnolia House estate, innovative laboratory Biocepario, and the Foresta restaurant. Unrealized designs are set to become landmark buildings include the MAQ museum in Quito, Ecuador and the space age University of the Future in the Ecuadorian countryside. Though projects range widely in size and scope, they are united by a shared intentionality and approach that embraces technology, materiality, and a sensitivity to human and natural interaction.
Under its experimental arm, Obio, EFE also designs bespoke furniture and artworks, both for site-specific architectural projects and private commissions. Obio is perhaps best known for the Near Life furniture collection, and recent collaborators on design explorations have included Mercedes Benz, Adidas, and On-Shoes. This area of the studio functions as an ever-renewing incubator for ideas and material explorations across mediums, developing projects that incorporate a deeply human, sensitive and resourceful approach into designs that project optimism, vitality, and a respect for the natural world.