It may seem like heavily developed cities don’t have a lot of room for more greenery, but Singapore is proving there are all kinds of ways to integrate it, even within skyscrapers. CapitaSpring by Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) and Carlo Ratti Associati is the latest project to bring beautiful vegetation to Singapore’s extremely dense urban fabric.

Standing over 918 feet tall, CapitaSpring incorporates an incredible 80,000 plants spread across its 51 floors. These green spaces offer a “seamless transition between the garden and the city,” with lushly planted oases concentrated at the base, core, and roof of the building.

“As someone with Singaporean heritage, I have been honored and humbled by the opportunity to contribute to the ongoing evolution of architecture in Singapore as a distinct blending between the contemporary and the tropical,” says Brian Yang, Partner in Charge of BIG. “In our design, this manifests as a seamless transition between the garden and the city, articulated in the facades and a series of lush spiraling gardens connecting between various programs and filled with amenities representing a spectrum of use.”

“Our design seeks to continue Singapore’s pioneering vertical urbanism with the 2800-meter tall diverse neighborhood of places to work, live, and play inside as well as outside,” says Bjarke Ingels, Founding Partner of BIG. “Due to the unique character of Singapore’s urbanism — both extremely dense and green — we decided to make the design a vertical exploration of tropical urbanism. At grade, the street is closed to form a new linear park and public plaza.”

Ingels adds that “a vertical park in the middle of the tower forms a spiraling promenade ascending among tropical tree trunks and canopies. On top, an urban forest feeds all the restaurants and cafés in the building and allows visitors to enjoy the lushness of the summit.”

The lower eight floors of the building contain residences with amenities like a swimming pool, jogging track, gym, jacuzzi, lounge, social kitchen, and barbecue pits. The upper 29 floors contain premium office spaces. The “Green Oasis” is in between, an open-air garden where residents, office workers, and visitors can all stroll around, gather, and relax.

Singapore is one of the 100 most crowded cities in the world, with a population of about 6 million. It’s also one of the greenest. In 1965, in the aftermath of British colonial rule, Singaporean leaders decided the nation-state would focus on becoming a “Garden City,” prioritizing green spaces and creative ways to introduce plants to the urban environment.

With limited land supply, Singapore builds upwards, encouraging architects and developers to allow skyscrapers and gardens to intertwine. Projects like Marina Bay Sands, Raffles City, Changi Airport, and now CapitaSpring serve as role models for the world, demonstrating the value of creative green spaces in growing cities.

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Mount Tirana takes inspiration from Albania’s distinctive mountains, celebrating the national identity and cultural heritage of the country on Southwestern Europe’s Balkan Peninsula. Its 70,000-square-foot interior will include housing, a boutique hotel, offices, a business area, commercial facilities, restaurants, cafés, and parking facilities. The ground floor, connected to adjacent parklands, will act as one big “urban living room” for the city. Mount Tirana is set within the city’s core downtown area close to the National Theater of Opera and Ballet of Albania and the National Historical Museum.

“Mountains are one of nature’s most impressive features,” said Mikkel Frost, Founding Partner and Architect at CEBRA. “Everlasting, awe-inspiring, and beautiful, they are the original landmarks. By using the mountains of Albania as our main source of inspiration, we tap into the local history, the cultural heritage, and the identity of Albania. This symbolic landmark will create an elegant connection between the ever-transforming urban fabric of Tirana and the natural surroundings — an architectural hybrid between a tower and a mountain and an international typology, which is locally anchored.”

Coming to a sharp point at its pinnacle, the new biophilic skyscraper will certainly stand out in the Tirana skyline, even with so many new and interesting architectural projects taking shape around it. The city is in the midst of a major construction boom, with other big developments in the works including MVRDV’s Downtown One Tirana, a mixed-use building with a pixelated facade; BIG’s new National Theater of Albania, which resembles a giant bow tie; and a new iteration of Stefano Boeri’s Vertical Forest, which will be covered in over 3,200 shrubs and bushes (the first two are located in Milan).

Mount Tirana was chosen by an international jury, including Albanaian Prime Minister Edi Rama, the Mayor of Tirana, four internationally acclaimed architects, and the client, Nova Construction 2012. Construction will begin immediately.

Founded in 2001 by architects Mikkel Frost, Carsten Primdahl, and Kolja Nielsen, CEBRA is an architecture and design practice based in Aarhus, Denmark. The firm employs a multidisciplinary international staff of more than 65 architects, urban planners, landscape architects, academics, and administrative personnel. They’re known for their sensitivity to the landscape, ecology, and cultural history of each site, developing projects that are visually striking yet harmonious with their surroundings.

“Empathy is at the core of how we create architecture, and we listen to the world around us to gain a deep understanding of local cultures, conditions, climate, and building traditions,” the firm states. “At the same time, we focus on creating architecture for the senses. In interdisciplinary teams we practice artistic leadership and speak up for emotional impact to create architecture that is both bold, beautiful, and useful.”

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ZNera Space sees the Downtown Circle as sustainable and self-sufficient vertical urbanism. The mega-complex stands an incredible 550 meters (1,804 feet) off the ground on five relatively narrow supports as an alternative to a bunch of unconnected skyscrapers. Containing housing, retail stores, offices, and schools as well as public spaces like parks and museums, the ring-shaped tower even has its own transportation system. Theoretically, residents wouldn’t ever have to leave the tower if they didn’t want to.

Downtown Circle contains five levels, including two main rings held together by a continuous green belt the architects call Skypark. Spanning the multi-story vertical space between the structure’s two rings, the Skypark is its own self-contained ecosystem full of swamps, waterfalls, canyons, sandy dunes, and tropical vegetation. It also incorporates rainwater harvesting, solar power, and agricultural production, so the community can grow some of its own food and produce its own energy. And with full-size trees capable of storing carbon, the Skypark also helps to offset the ring’s greenhouse gas emissions.

To get around the ring, residents and visitors will travel in a fleet of suspended peripheral pods that transport them from one node to another. The vessels follow tracks along the structure’s bottom tier. An elevated heliport on the roof of the inner ring lets inhabitants travel down to the city and back up again. An outer layer of louvers protects the facade from intense sunlight and helps reflect light to areas that get shaded by the geometry of the building throughout the day.

“We wanted to go down to the basics of how gated communities were established as a very horizontal built environment,” says Najmus Chowdry, co-founder of ZNera Space. “But you can’t have that here because of the dense urban fabric of Dubai. The best way to explore and practice this concept was in downtown itself.”

“The concept was of a vertical city,” says Nils Remess, the firm’s other co-founder. “When COVID-19 hit hard, we thought a lot about sustainability and how can we change things and how we can create better urban planning. We looked at aspects such as garbage disposal, food production, traffic problems, and pollution. We put all these things together and came up with a concept.”

Concepts like the Downtown Circle could definitely help with the challenge of packing more people into cities as the global population continues to grow amidst the threats of climate change. One thing few of them seem to address, however, is the question of whether such structures would contribute to further segregation of economic classes within cities, leaving poor residents on a ground level that would feel downright subterranean when shaded by megastructures that elevate richer people into the sky above. In that case, higher-density cities will only feel livable for some people and not others.

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Built in a densely populated urban area in the middle of Oslo, Norway, the Regenerative High-Rise features a main structural frame consisting of three-story-high decks that can each support either three intermediate floor plates or three levels of versatile, varying-height pods. According to the architects, this design makes the system adaptable both horizontally and vertically. Single, double, or triple-height partitions can be inserted within each level to allow for interior layouts suited to residential, office, hotel leisure, or production uses.

The idea is that the building can be continually modified over time to suit new uses that may come up in the future. The difficulty of retrofitting old buildings is currently a major challenge for developers in cities around the world, especially in high-rises designed for a particular function, like offices or apartments. Haptic and Ramboll’s “triple-height sky villages,” as they call them, aim to bring the sense of community traditionally found in Olso’s suburbs to its urban core through mixed-use buildings that can change along with the neighborhood and the times.

The first fully realized Regenerative High-Rise even makes use of an interesting pre-existing feature onsite, incorporating a disused motor viaduct into its foundations to demonstrate how road infrastructure can be creatively repurposed.

“The natural materials bring warmth to the high-rise while also contributing to the life cycle carbon management of the development,” say the architects. “The building core has a maintenance unit at the top capable of lifting the pods and intermediate floors. This function is expected to be used during the whole life span of the building, not just during its construction. The pods also are designed to be moved and reused throughout the building to allow it to be reprogrammed over time, depending on the needs of the city.”

“The most exciting component of the Regenerative Tower is the idea of vertical land creation,” says Shonn Mills, Global Director of Ramboll High Rise. “With the tower, we are essentially producing volumes that can flex and change in use and character with the needs and requirements of the city. This makes sure the building stays competitive and relevant far longer than the normal building life cycle, which also makes it more sustainable.”

If you see high-rise timber projects like this as giant tinder boxes waiting to ignite, you might be interested to learn that recent research shows materials like glulam, CLT, and LVL are surprisingly resilient in a fire. The charring of wood creates an insulating layer that protects the inner part of the timber, leaving cross-sections of undamaged wood capable of carrying heavy loads after the fire is out. Steel, on the other hand, melts at high temperatures, and concrete collapses without its reinforcement. Produced with extreme precision, engineered wood components are also easy to assemble, and they come from a renewable source.

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The latest project from Mexico City architects PALMA is a shining example of how designers are re-envisioning mixed-use spaces. No stranger to innovation, the firm designed “Chiripa” to “see how different users would interact with one another in a hybrid building that’s part house, part hotel.” The result is a spacious yet unassuming space that stuns visually without overpowering the landscape’s natural beauty. Unobstructed views of Mexico’s Bay of Sayulita complement the complex’s white stucco and exposed concrete slabs, while the clean lines and curvy staircases and bridges add a touch of understated luxury to the scene.

The building’s distinct but connected volumes were placed at opposing orientations to allow for an airiness and openness that lets natural light into every nook and cranny while simultaneously creating a separation that allows for privacy within. Two of the four levels are cleverly built into the site and concealed from street-level views, further highlighting the space’s perfect integration into the surrounding landscape.

Comprised of six total units, Chiripa is accessed through a central walkway/entrance hall at the top. A half-circle staircase allows residents to traverse both blocks, while a series of open-air connecting bridges builds on the complex’s airy vibes. Here, the natural surroundings aren’t just a backdrop: they’re part of the space itself, blending seamlessly with the central garden and views of nearby bay.

While the site’s multi-use configuration does overlap in common areas like kitchen and dining spaces, the privacy of the additional rooms cannot be overstated. All in all, it’s an ideal space for both short and long-term residents. Each level also features its own covered terrace that extends from both the common areas and bedrooms. Both structures boast their own rooftop pool and shared terraces that offer panoramic views of the surrounding area.

Hybridity isn’t just a buzzword, it’s a way to create spaces that are multi-use and convey a sense of fluidity in both commercial and residential spheres. With their new complex overlooking Mexico’s Bay of Sayulita, PALMA does exactly that, showing that functionality and style need not be mutually exclusive.

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For decades, this area has no longer served its purpose as a port system, since the waters are too shallow for modern ships. It grew derelict over time and felt disconnected from the community. Today, it’s becoming a lively destination full of interesting architecture that combines older existing buildings with new construction. Project Harbour Club is one of those buildings, boasting three massive salvaged wine silos converted into rooftop homes as its defining feature.

Dutch firm LEVS architecten turned the original low-lying 1901 dock terminal facility and wine warehouse into a nightclub and restaurant that connects to a new six-story L-shaped residential building, which hugs it on two sides. The project offers 81 starter homes, three luxury townhouses, and five live/work homes, as well as the event spaces. Placing a booming club adjacent to housing might seem like poor planning, but the architects integrated a ton of soundproofing as well as buffer spaces in between, reducing vibrations and sound.

The architects explain that “the Harbour Club’s new event space is located on the lower three floors on the Cruquiusweg. Using the box-in-a-box principle, the space has been completely disconnected from the other functions in the building in order to prevent noise nuisance. The box with its own foundation consists of a steel frame with precast concrete. Above it, houses with a through lounge float, supported by four 16-meter-long beams. A second, glass skin also forms a buffer zone and serves as a foyer.”

During renovations to remove an adjacent 1990s industrial hall, the architects uncovered the original brick facade of the building, which lends a sense of age and texture to the restaurant along with the wine warehouse’s old wooden beams. The preserved porthole-style windows enhance the building’s connection to its shipping industry history. Planted with mossy sedum, the roof of this structure is now a shared outdoor space for residents of the building.

Naturally, those huge industrial wine silos are the star of the show. They once stored wine destined for the Dutch market, and they had to be decontaminated and lifted over a line of trees to be installed. “They have been preserved as icons of the island’s history and have been given a new function as elevated luxury town houses,” the architects add. “The three-story dwellings stand on a communal roof terrace in a green landscape. They are rotated slightly to provide the best possible view from the new panoramic window.”

The residents of these luxury units might have the best views of all, but the “starter homes” definitely aren’t bad, either. Some are studios set above the event hall, and others cantilever 16 feet over the old warehouse on the restaurant side. Their half-covered balconies offer privacy while overlooking the harbor and green roof.

“Harbour Club is a multi-level challenge: technically, programmatically, and architecturally,” the architects say. “The combined necessities of affordable densification, restoration of monuments, [and] climate mitigation and adaptation need to be addressed simultaneously. Harbour Club is a contemporary answer, characterized by unconventional solutions.”

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During their first visits to the site, the architects were struck by the look of the large orange gantry cranes, which reminded them of “living alien creatures with a sense of surrealism.” That led them to a vivid color scheme and a sci-fi-flavored vision for elevated buildings that feel like a futuristic, free-walking city, “seemingly arriving here from elsewhere, and perhaps traveling elsewhere once again someday,” says lead architect Ma Yansong.

Working with the China Academy of Building Research (CASR), MAD Architects plans to transform the current cargo terminal in Chongqing’s Liangjiang New Area into a new city complex and tourist attraction. The most visually striking part is called the Yangtze River Skywalk, a 1400-foot-long complex made up of six separate but interconnected buildings that seem to rise and fall in an organic line when viewed from a distance. This mimics the rhythm of the industrial freight terminal cranes in both form and color, while their elevated positions preserve open views of the river.

An aluminum curtain wall lends a surreal feel to the building, which also hosts mixed-use retail spaces, restaurants, and other commercial areas. Beneath the “floating” skywalk is a new Cruise Ship Landscape Park and Cruise Ship Hall that extends the Cuntan Central Golden Axis Pier to form a new link between the adjacent Pier Park and Century Cuntan Park. Together, they’ll create a massive new urban green space offering scenic views of the river and city from a place that’s currently unpleasantly industrial.

“Chongqing has mountains and waters,” says Yansong. “However, the Yangtze River is more than just a natural landscape in Chongqing. Because of human activities such as shipping traffic and industrial transport, this mountain city is also full of energy and movement. We want to transform this energy in Chongqing from traces of industry into an energy that stimulates the imagination. People can feel the kinetic energy of the city here, but also imagine the public spaces of the future.”

MAD says the scheme will create a new urban landmark while shifting the feel from industrial to a greener, more attractive vision of urban life. The Chongqing Cuntan International Cruise Center is part of a larger effort by local officials to transform the area for tourists and residents alike. In fact, they imagine that this stretch of the Yangtze will become “the world’s preeminent river cruise port” with an unusual mix of ship, port, city, tourism, shopping, and entertainment attractions. Construction is expected to begin in November 2022, with completion by 2027.

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So what does this bustling medieval city have to do with the dynamic and foward-thinking Zaha Hadid Architects? While Tallinn itself remains beautifully preserved, its layout has been described by some as somewhat problematic for being isolated from its own very important port.

Enter the Tallin Port Masterplan 2030: a design competition aimed at better connecting Tallinn to its port, improving under-built areas, creating better opportunities to utilize existing resources, and bringing the whole town into the modern age.

And who better to complete this ambitious project than Zaha Hadid Architects? The firm has long been known for its futuristic bend and geometric shapes that often seem to defy the laws of physics. Among the firm’s most famous recent projects is the Zugló City Centre in Budapest, a mixed-use development that connects green spaces with urban residential and commercial areas, seamlessly blending the two into a oasis that’s both sustainable and synchronistic. That project, announced in 2017, is set for completion in 2029, according to the firm’s website.

Much like the Budapest City Centre project, the focus for the Tallinn Port seems to hinge on connectivity. “Our vision for the harbor redevelopment master plan is to create a new recognizable and distinct gateway to the city of Tallinn, a new city fabric interconnected with the adjacent city districts,” ZHA recently said in an official statement.

The new area will consist of mixed-use structures including residential, commercial, and leisure-focused properties meant to revitalize the Old Town area, though none of the oldest buildings will themselves be changed. Dubbed “Streamcity” by ZHA, the area will, like many of their other projects, also contain a green space, this time in the form of a public park.

According to reports, the famed architectural firm plans to work with several other firms to bring the project to fruition, including landscape design consultant Tyrens UK and Latvian firm RemPro. Also working closely with the Port of Tallinn, ZHA will transform the Baltic Sea port and the surrounding area into a modern, dynamic space that will most certainly bring the UNESCO World Heritage Site into the 21st century while still maintaining its medieval charm and character. While there have been no recent updates for the city’s Masterplan 2030, we can most likely expect this dynamic project to be completed sometime in 2029 or 2030 — yet another feather in the Zaha Hadid’s world-renowned cap.

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Designed by Bumblebee Spaces, a San Francisco-based startup founded by former Tesla and Apple engineers, this robotic system hides a bed, a desk, and even storage within a ceiling compartment, making the 470-square-foot studio units feel a lot more livable. Mounted to a grid capable of holding several tons of weight, the system also responds to voice commands, so you can simply ask it to move the furniture around at your whims. No need to open an app or even press a button.

Made of stylish light-colored wood, the system blends right into the contemporary style of the apartment interior and boasts built-in LED lighting. When the components are lowered, the surprisingly narrow supports are visible in each corner, maintaining a light and open feel. Taking the automation of the room even further, the system uses artificial intelligence to recognize various objects and remember where you put them. Lost your keys or sunglasses? Just ask. It’ll also learn your daily routine, and can be set to shape-shift at certain times of the day without being prompted.

Another cool feature is the system’s ability to photograph and catalog the contents of the storage bins that retreat into the ceiling on all sides of the bed (an add-on for which you can choose two, four, or six compartments). The Bumblebee app lets you preview your boxes so you know exactly which one you need to access instead of lowering each one and physically sorting through them. Built-in sensors and other safety features ensure the kinetic components won’t put any people or pets in danger.

The studio apartment itself features nine-foot ceilings made of exposed concrete, floor to ceiling windows, and monolithic resin floors, as well as several spacious closets, Italian stainless steel cabinets in the kitchen, and a stainless steel suite of appliances. Needless to say, it’s rare for rentals to have features like the $12,000 to $30,000 Bumblebee system, especially at a rent price that’s not too far from average in New York City. These five apartments will rent for $3,550 a month, and with four months free in a 16-month lease, they average out to even less. The building’s market-rate rentals will go for about $2,056 a month, and the affordable units, which make up about a third of the building, are even less.

BIG’s design for The Smile is a response to New York City’s 1916 zoning resolution, which calls for “stepped facade” towers to allow sufficient light and air to filter down to street level. Other unusual amenities in the building include a game room, co-working studio, demo kitchen, fitness center with Peloton bikes, yoga room, steam room, dry sauna, and “sensory experience showers.”

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The development stands out even when viewed from afar. Its jagged white rooflines rise from the city streets in an organic-looking jumble, contrasting the neatly organized rows and rectilinear shapes of the buildings around it. In the center is a massive courtyard, all the facades facing it painted with textured red stucco. The building fills its building site all the way to the boundaries, and the roofs are designed with “carefully calibrated” slopes to maximize ventilation and sunlight to both the building itself and its neighbors.

The courtyard inside, developed in collaboration with local architecture firm Flint, is irregularly shaped and measures nearly 56,000 square feet. This park-like green space is actually one level above the street, positioned over the complex’s parking garage, making it feel like a secret garden that’s protected from but still connected to the larger urban context. Planted with 83 alder and birch trees and a variety of grasses, the courtyard opens to the streets through a few different portals.

Within the building, all the irregular slopes of the rooflines and exteriors create interesting, dynamic interior spaces, including apartment layouts that are entirely unique. That results in a wide array of home sizes and shapes, so occupants don’t feel like they’re living in cookie-cutter spaces. Some areas of the buildings are as low as one story, while on the side facing the river, some rise as high as nine. At its peak, the complex features a glass crown housing the restaurant with views of Bordeaux’s historic center.

MVRDV’s Bastide-Niel masterplan will ultimately include three additional developments, aiming to combine all the history Bordeaux has to offer with the density, ecology and comfort, of a modern metropolis. Once completed, this masterplan, developed in collaboration with Joubert Architecture, will see more than 86 acres of former barracks and rail yards converted to public spaces and cultural facilities.

“The COVID-19 pandemic showed everyone how valuable outdoor spaces close to their homes can be, and I hope Ilot Queyries can show that such amenities don’t require compromise,” says MVRDV founding partner Winy Maas. “The building creates close and intimate streets without ugly parked cars thanks to its ample car parking. At the same time every apartment is provided a balcony or loggia, while the green park space becomes a wonderful community amenity.”

“This project served as preparation for the grander plan of the Bastide_Niel development,” adds Maas. “With this project we were able to test some of our ideas, which resulted in a masterplan with more greenery in the streets, better cost optimization for façades, and more open courtyards.”

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Designed to help revitalize the Ba Gua Ling industrial zone at the heart of Shenzhen, the 55-story construction features a retail podium on the first few levels, with two towers that grow upward before splitting into four above a sky-park level. Calling it Shirble – The Prime (after the Chinese Department store that would be housed below), one of the building’s towers would be for offices and the other three for residential apartments.

The basic design inspiration for the high-rise was the Golden Winged Great Peng, a Chinese Buddhist eagle guardian who redeemed himself from his evil ways after listening to the Buddha’s teachings. He was then made the spiritual uncle to the Buddha and was said to have watched over all the world as he guarded the exalted throne of the great teacher.

Shenzhen’s Ba Gua Ling district used to be a hub for the printing industry but has since seen a lot of urban blight and increasing vacancy rates. By calling on the Peng imagery, Shirble – The Prime hopes to make the area prosperous and desirable place once again. The roof lines of the towers mimic the wings of the Great Peng spreading up to the sky, while the lower levels incorporate lined details reminiscent of a bird’s feathers. And with its sheer height (about 820 feet), the complex looks out over the city just like the protector eagle watching over all from the top of the world.

The new complex has been thoughtfully laid out relative to the surrounding landscapes and transportation systems, taking into account both cross-ventilation and the maximization of interior views.

The housing options include various unit sizes from large apartments to small lofts, while a “sky park” (itself situated about 500 feet above ground) provides outdoor space for walking and gathering. Also on that level will be a gym, clubhouse, sky garden, and other recreational amenities. Residents, employees, and shoppers can also find spaces to socialize in the retail podium, which will feature both indoor and outdoor common areas.

The architectural details of the structure are geometric, dissected by the more organic shape of the retail pavilion and sky park levels. The rounded rectangle balconies of the residential towers, decked out with silver-white aluminum finishes, contrast with the asymmetrical, flowing lines of the tree-topped pavilion and park.

Greenery adorns several other levels as well, providing a connection to the natural world as well as creating a little extra oxygen for the residents and employees. For its innovative design bringing so many aspects of life under one roof, Aedes won the 2020 International Property Award for Best International Residential High-Rise Architecture.

The firm was founded in 2002, with headquarters in Hong Kong and more than 1,200 employees spread among their 12 offices around the world. Their mission is to let their design practice be driven by the global sharing of research, knowledge, and practice to tailor their developments to local needs.

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Australian firm Koichi Takada Architects uses biomimicry as the guiding principle in all its designs, including its new Solar Trees Marketplace in the Minhang district southwest of Shanghai, China. The complex takes one of Chinese culture’s most revered and ancient public spaces and modernizes it without compromising the characteristics that make it special. The firm wanted to retain the feeling of discovery and connection to the country’s historic open-air markets with a design that was friendly to both humans and the environment, taking cues from Mother Nature’s own creations.

The result is nothing short of stunning. Currently in the late stages of construction, the three-story mixed-use development features 32 architectural “trees” rising from the ground to form an artificial canopy above hundreds of modular market stalls. Visitors will wind through indoor and outdoor spaces, the timber “branches” above providing shade, shelter from the rain, and a surface for solar panels to power the facility.

50 living camphor trees planted outside signal the beginning of a green corridor that will run down the length of the new Shanghai Tian An Caobao Road Area Residential Masterplan. Ultimately, pedestrians will enjoy a boulevard lined with 3,000 trees and shrubs indigenous to Shanghai, with the color coding of different plantings identifying various neighborhoods and guiding residents home.

“The inclusion of modular market stalls will bring a sense of authenticity to the contemporary development, referencing their history as social and cultural gathering spaces and allowing a new generation to gather at its heart,” says the firm. “Reflecting the Chinese tradition of making guests feel at home — bīn zhì rú guī — the marketplace will generate a powerful sense of community and integrate the private and public domains.”

For the shape of the facility, the Koichi Takada team turned to Shanghai’s nearby forests. The marketplace is a symbolic visual bridge between nature and the city, softening the edges and contributing to a healthier, more livable urban environment in what has long been one of the world’s most polluted cities. It’s due to be completed by the end of 2021.

“We want to humanize buildings in the district, to be more engaging to the public and contribute to the regeneration of communities and their neighborhoods,” says principal architect Koichi Takada. “We want architecture to celebrate cultural identity, along with encouraging pedestrian activities and a more walkable and livable city.

Last year, Koichi Takada Architects showed off a similar approach with Sunflower House, a series of single-family dwellings designed specifically for Italy’s sunny Tuscan climate. Those homes utilize a rotating design and solar roof to maximize sun exposure for energy production and minimize heat gain inside.

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Planned by Israeli-born Canadian architect Moshe Safdie in collaboration with CapitaLand, one of the largest diversified real estate groups in Asia, Raffles City is truly a feat of engineering. The site is exposed to strong winds, so the glass conservatory known as “The Crystal” features an advanced system of frictional pendulum bearings and seismic dampers to make it more flexible. The promenade alone is made of 12,000 tons of steel, 3,000 sections of glass panels, and 5,000 aluminum panels.

Located in an urban district between the Yangtze and Jialing rivers, the 1.12-million-square-meter project contains a shopping mall, offices, 1400 residential apartments, and a luxury hotel in addition to the themed observation deck, sky gardens full of mature trees, infinity pool, and food and beverage zone found in the public areas.

“Projects of this scale and density can easily be overbearing and imposing, impenetrable and seeming to turn their back on the cities of which they are a part,” says Safdie. “Raffles City Chongqing, although vertically organized into a series of towers, strives to connect to the city’s existing network of streets and systems. It also transforms the site podium into a network of public and open spaces. Additionally, a sky conservatory, which bridges between four towers, draws the active public life high up into the project.”

“This historic site in Chongqing is located at the center of the city, in the heart of a densely developed existing city infrastructure,” says Safdie. “We carefully studied and incorporated the city street organization, engaging the historic shopping streets and using their organization to help arrange and bring order to the complex programming of the project.”

Safdie took inspiration from the area’s waterway transportation culture, envisioning the overall structure as a giant sailboat, with the two tallest, most prominent skyscrapers slightly curved against the wind as the complex points its nose into the water. As you may recognize from its shape, it’s also reminiscent of one of Safdie’s best known projects, Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands hotel.

The skybridge, also known as “The Crystal,” transforms into a giant beam of light after dark, illuminating the sky with nightly light shows. It features the glass-bottomed “Exploration Deck,” which juts out at one end, and two additional aerial walkways connecting it to other skyscrapers. Tickets to experience The Exploration Deck, the first major attraction to launch in Chongqing since the lifting of the country’s nationwide lockdown, sold out almost as soon as they were made available.

“More than just a building, Raffles City Chongqing is a landmark urban renewal project that expresses and shapes Chongqing’s global city aspirations,” says Lim Ming Yan, President and CEO of CapitaLand Limited. “As the master planner of this important site, CapitaLand fully appreciates the historical and cultural significance of Chaotianmen [bridge] to the people of Chongqing. We have thus gone to great lengths to imbue the project with the highest standards of livability, connectivity, and sustainability by carefully studying the needs of the community and the unique attributes of the site. Our goal is to create a vibrant riverfront urban district that serves as a dynamic city gateway befitting of Chongqing’s growing economic influence.”

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The new year will bring the completion of a pretty dazzling array of architectural projects, some of which have been in the making for a decade or more. Major firms will be cutting the ribbons on career-defining structures, and some of them are record-breakers, too.

These five exciting examples include a new super-tall tower for Chicago, the posthumous completion of a striking hotel designed by Zaha Hadid herself, an Olympic stadium, and two examples of buzzworthy concepts looking to prove themselves in the real world.

Opus by Zaha Hadid Architects, Dubai

The first and only hotel in Dubai to be designed inside and out by famed architect Zaha Hadid herself, the “Opus” is a cube-shaped volume with a “carved” central void, bringing some of Hadid’s signature curvature to the project. Located within the city’s Burj Khalifa district, the building will contain a “ME by Melia” hotel as well as 12 restaurants, a rooftop bar, and 56,000 square feet of office space. Each side of the cube is conceived as its own separate tower, connected by narrow bridges at the top and bottom.

“The Opus will be aligned with Omniyat’s vision of treating each project as if it were a unique work of art,” says Mahdi Amjad, Executive Chairman and CEO of Omniyat. “The design conveys the remarkably inventive quality of ZHA’s work; expressing a sculptural sensibility that reinvents the balance between solid and void, opaque and transparent, interior and exterior.”

There’s no word yet on exactly when the hotel will open to its first guests, but construction is nearly complete as of early 2020.

Nanjing Zendai Himalayas Center by MAD, China

When architects first began proposing futuristic-looking developments resembling mountains years ago, they seemed like fantasy concepts that would never actually be built. MAD Architects is proving that theory wrong with its Nanjing Zendai Himalayas Center, which is quickly nearing completion in China. The mixed-use development occupies over 560,000 square meters of building area and will host residential, hotel, office, and commercial facilities, and it’s all characterized by mountain-like towers around the edge with glass screens that “flow” like waterfalls.

The firm explains that “these features provide interior spaces with energizing light and wind to form a subtle, calming ambiance. The project mimics the site’s surrounding mountains and meandering rivers that are essential parts of Chinese aesthetic philosophy. Towers along the edge of the site act as a mountainous backdrop, while water features such as ponds, waterfalls, brooks, and pools connect buildings and landscapes to integrate all of the center’s elements. This integration goes beyond form, with the water features functioning as reservoirs to collect and recycle rainwater for irrigation.”

Vista Tower by Studio Gang, Chicago

It’s not every day that a city gets a new landmark that dramatically alters its skyline. In Chicago, the tale of the failed Spire super-tower has become legendary after what was supposed to be the tallest building in North America never made it past the construction of its giant foundation hole. That hole has now sat empty for well over a decade. The new Vista Tower by Studio Gang may not fill the literal hole in the ground, and at 1,186 feet, it won’t be anywhere near as tall, but once completed, it will be the city’s third-tallest skyscraper.

“Residential and hotel amenities combine at the upper levels, creating a vibrant social center,” say the architects. “At ground level, the building creates an essential pedestrian connection between the Chicago Riverwalk and the nearby community park’s outdoor recreational facilities.”

1,000 Trees by Heatherwick Studio, Shanghai

A lot of concept architecture over the last decade has featured full-scale trees adorning the facades of buildings. While it certainly looks cool, there have been a lot of good questions raised about the weight of the soil, the impact of the tree roots as they grow, and lots of other potential problems. As Heatherwick Studio completes its 1,000 Trees development in Shanghai, we’ll finally get to see how it all works out. Heatherwick’s design differs from others in a few crucial ways, like the use of concrete structural columns to support the trees. The mixed-use project also resembles an artificial mountain from afar, adding some interesting topographical dimension to an otherwise flat city.

National Stadium by Kengo Kuma, Tokyo

Japanese architect Kengo Kuma’s National Stadium was technically completed in November 2019, but this summer, we’ll get to see it in use for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics. Kuma is a master of wooden architecture, and the new stadium is one of his largest and most complex projects to date, made with over 70,000 cubic feet of larch and cedar wood sourced from all of Japan’s 47 prefectures. The stadium was originally set to be designed by Zaha Hadid, but her firm’s predictably curvy design was deemed too expensive.

Which one of these projects are you most excited to see finished?

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It took an entire year to gut the five levels of the original 1930s brick and wood villa and complete the design for Hellas House. The construction took another five years. Chatzigiannis even laughed as he noted: “I spent the better part of my youth on it.”

Hellas is what Greeks call their homeland, which is why it was formerly known as the Hellenic Republic in English. Kontomichalos’ challenged Chatzigiannis to renovate the 5,380-square-foot villa so it would “scream Greek” without any brash or tasteless touches that often plague such projects. Chatzigiannis explains: “There is a stereotypical ‘Grecian’ style for this kind of project, one that can’t seem to escape the blue-and-white thing or laurel-wreath crowns or chitons. It can go over the top very easily.” He gladly welcomed his client’s refreshing challenge.

Kontomichalos wanted his main business ventures centered in Hellas House, including an import company dedicated to bringing the finest honey, wine, and olive oil from his homeland into Shanghai, a travel agency dedicated to unique and personalized adventures, and a store offering locals the best of imported Greek produce. His vision also included a space dedicated to showcasing social and corporate events, as well as other floors and rooms that would bring the best of Greece to the other few hundred Greek natives who call Shanghai home. Simply stated, Kontomichalos wanted Hellas House to represent, “the best Greece has to offer: history, culture, natural products, hospitality, and healthy lifestyle.”

The culmination of Chatzigiannis’ five-year project delivered exactly what Kontomichalos wanted. The travel agency, produce store, and import company were the easiest factions to create. The basement of Hellas House became a wine cellar for Greek wines. An open-air kitchen now occupies the ground floor, flanked by a gallery of artifact replicas representing the various eras of Greek culture. The adjacent lounge gives way to a garden, pool, and dining veranda, while a multi-purpose exhibition space occupies the mezzanine. Formal dining is offered on the second floor, which also includes a luxurious living room and terrace. An attic retreat is slipped in beneath the pitched roof and displays ceiling beams salvaged from the original structure.

To ensure Grecian authenticity all throughout Hellas House, Chatzigiannis chose to work with resources and color schemes from ancient times to complete the project. Bronze, marble, and wood are abundant in almost every room, as are basic hues of black, white, and gold. He also imported massive slabs of raw marble to Xiamen from the Aegean islands of Naxos and Thassos to construct the floors, walls, and columns.

Every era of ancient Greek history is represented throughout Hellas House. For example, the entrance hall represents the Bronze Age, with a life-size plaster cast replica of a female circa 2800–2300 BCE. Chatzigiannis complements the statue’s minimalist style with equally restrained custom elements: a graphic metal console in matte black, a simple geometric brass stair rail with a matte-gold finish, and a subtle white-on-white plaid-pattern floor of polished marble.

In addition, the chaises, stools, and chairs found throughout Hellas House are replicas of T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings, a renowned 20th-century designer celebrated for incorporating ancient Greek furniture standards into modern creations. Chatzigiannis painstakingly found the small number of elderly Athenian craftsmen who still create Robsjohn-Gibbings’ signature curved-wood furniture to ensure he could bring it into the home.

The journey to completing Hellas House was long and tedious, but both Chatzigiannis and Kontomichalos happily agree that it was a big success.

Photos courtesy of InteriorDesign.com

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