Raffles City Chongqing / Safdie Architects

Following eight years of design, development, and construction, Safdie Architects is nearing completion on its latest project in China: Raffles City Chongqing, a vibrant complex which combines office, residential, hotel, retail, and recreational facilities across a 22.7 acre site, embedded within the densely developed Yuzhong district. Situated at the confluence of the Yangtze and Jialing rivers, the historically significant site was once home to the city's most important gateway and the imperial entrance to the city: Chaotian Gate. The area was also Chongqing's foremost riverfront trading post which has traditionally driven development in this inland city, catalyzing its evolution to become one of the world's fastest-growing and densest cities with a greater metropolitan population of over 30 million people.