Ecuador's New National Museum Design Carries A $100 Million Price Tag

Ecuador's planned new National Museum now has a winning design.

A team of architects from Ecuador and Spain won the international competition to design the new headquarters of the Museo Nacional del Ecuador, known as MuNa.

The winning proposal, Ecos del sol, was submitted by Campo Baeza + MAODA and selected from 17 evaluated candidacies.

The Quito Site

Gilda Alcívar, minister of Education, Culture and Sport, said 148 teams from more than 20 countries participated.

The new museum will be located south of Parque La Carolina in north-central Quito.

The project is planned at 36,000 square meters and is expected to bring together about 1.4 million cultural and heritage items. Authorities reported an investment requirement of $100 million.

Why It Matters

The current museum operates inside the Casa de la Cultura Ecuatoriana, where it occupies around 8,000 square meters.

The new design places cultural-goods reserves above street level to reduce risks tied to humidity or possible flooding.

For residents and visitors in Quito, this is a long-term culture and urban-development project to watch near one of the city's best-known parks.