Our New Home in Puembo
Fundación Colegio Americano de Quito Inaugurates New Campus in Puembo, Establishing Itself as a Regional Benchmark for Educational Infrastructure
Ecuador, August 2026. Fundación Colegio Americano de Quito inaugurated its new campus in Puembo, representing an investment of nearly USD 60 million. The official ribbon-cutting ceremony was attended by Vice President of the Republic of Ecuador María José Pinto, who, together with members of the Board, school leadership, and the academic and student community, marked the beginning of this new chapter one that positions the school’s private educational infrastructure as a regional benchmark integrating innovation, technology, sustainability, and social responsibility.
After 86 years of history, Colegio Americano opens its new campus on a 14.5-hectare site, featuring 46,000 m² of learning spaces, more than twice the area dedicated to learning at its previous campus. The new campus maintains capacity for 2,450 students and dedicates 40% of its grounds to outdoor areas. These spaces are organized according to the different educational stages: Early Years, Primary, and Secondary.
In terms of architectural design, the new campus incorporates international trends in educational infrastructure and seeks to transform the way students learn, collaborate, and engage with their surroundings. Classrooms, Learning Commons, and green spaces are interconnected to make learning more flexible and extend it beyond the classroom, embracing the concept of the environment as the “third teacher.”
“This campus opens a new chapter in our history and gives us the opportunity to carry it forward for future generations, while embracing new ways of teaching, learning, connecting, and contributing to our community. That is its true purpose: to ensure an education that is academically rigorous and profoundly human,” said Cristina Pachano, Director General of Fundación Colegio Americano de Quito.
Vice President María José Pinto emphasized that the inauguration of the new campus represents both the continuation of an educational legacy and the responsibility to carry that legacy forward for future generations.
“A legacy is not only what we receive. It is what we choose to do with what we receive,” she said.
The new campus was designed to pursue the international LEED for Campus (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) environmental certification, with five buildings designed in accordance with LEED standards established by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), an international leader in sustainable building. Once certified, it will become the first educational campus in Ecuador to achieve this certification.
Approximately 14% of the campus’s energy will come from solar panels. In addition, passive strategies for natural lighting and ventilation help reduce energy use by 30%. The project also incorporates rainwater harvesting, greywater reuse, and low-emission materials, as well as indoor well-being criteria related to air quality, thermal comfort, and acoustic performance.
The project also includes environmental restoration initiatives, such as cleaning and rehabilitating the nearby ravine and planting approximately 700 native and agroforestry trees, along with nearly 10,000 native and pollinator-friendly plants.
The new campus significantly expands the spaces dedicated to sports, the arts, and innovation. Innovation is further supported through facilities such as makerspaces and the Kitchen Lab, which will be complemented by the future Innovation Center, designed to integrate science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics.
In sports, the campus increases its athletic areas by 30%, expanding the spaces available for physical activity and students’ holistic development. It features 23 sports facilities, including nine soccer fields—two built to FIFA regulation standards—as well as an athletics track and basketball, volleyball, and futsal courts. This infrastructure positions Colegio Americano as a venue capable of hosting international competitions and events.
As part of its commitment to social responsibility, the project includes an investment of USD 475,000 in mobility and safety improvements for the surrounding area, including traffic studies, road improvements, traffic lights, and signage.
These improvements include more than 750 linear meters of paving and curbs along Velasco Ibarra Street, as well as more than 650 meters of road maintenance and improvements. In addition, the construction of the new campus generated more than 1,500 direct and indirect jobs.
“We are inaugurating a new home, but we will preserve the same essence of Colegio Americano. This school is not defined by its buildings; it is defined by its values, its traditions, its students, and by all those leaders who contribute to making Ecuador and the world a better place,” said Agustín Acosta, President of the Board of Fundación Colegio Americano de Quito.
From Vision to Reality
What began as a vision grew day by day, step by step, into a new home for our community.
This timelapse captures the transformation of our new campus in Puembo from the first stages of construction to the spaces that today welcome our students, teachers, and families.
More than a new campus, it is the beginning of a new chapter in our history.
Behind every space, there was a Team
Before our students arrived and before our teachers stepped into their new classrooms, an extraordinary team was already here.
For months, our staff worked with dedication, care, and commitment to make sure every space was ready to welcome our community.
Every classroom prepared, every box moved, every detail completed was part of something bigger: bringing our new campus to life.
To everyone who made it possible: thank you.
This campus is part of your legacy, too.
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