Miller Hull

The firm was recognized for its design of a new regenerative campus for the American
School of Quito in Ecuador.

By EMMA HINCHLIFFE
A/E Editor

A butterfly garden in a learning courtyard; a wetland that doubles as an outside classroom; and a series of meandering net-zero buildings. These are key elements of The Miller Hull Partnership’s conceptual design for a new campus for the American School of Quito in Ecuador.

The Seattle-based firm recently took third place in an international design competition to find an architect for the new campus, which will be built on an undeveloped site, partially covered by wetlands.

The competition wrapped in March. It was organized by the school in association with the College of Architects of Pichincha.

The American School of Quito is a private institution founded in 1940. It currently serves over 2,000 children from the ages of 3 through the end of high school in three separate programs: the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program, the Middle Years Program, and the Diploma Program.

Architects from all over the world were invited to enter the competition but did have to include a local architect in their team. Miller Hull’s team included Quito-based firm Leppanen Anker Arquitectura. Other team members were U.S. firms Knot Studio, PAE Engineers, and Biohabitats. Design teams were tasked with the relocation of the school from its current home in the city center of Quito to a developing neighborhood at the edge of the city. The design brief asked for a learning environment that could support up to 2,500 students and reflect the school’s commitment to foster “freedom, responsibility, and democracy” while remaining committed “to the wellbeing of society and the environment.”

More than 100 teams entered the competition. Entries were subsequently narrowed down to 16 finalists. The finalists were then interviewed, and eight teams were invited to participate in the second and final phase of the design competition, which involved a site visit earlier this year.

Read the full story at Seattle DJC