Located on a prominent site at the confluence of the Jialing and Yangtze Rivers, this 9 million-square-foot mixed-use project has a strong presence as the apex of the city's peninsula. The Chaotian Gate ("gate to heaven"?), foremost of the traditional city gates, is a place of both ceremony and commerce. Recalling sailing ships on the river, the project symbolizes both Chongqing's noble trading past and its fast-growing future as one of China's largest modern cities. An ensemble of slender towers contains a mixture of office, residential, and hotel spaces. The towers, arranged in a prow-like arc, imply a great city surging forward. The outer curving glass facades, which face the water to the north, evoke an ancient sailing fleet. The south-facing facades of the interior towers center on the axis of Chaotianmen Plaza, forming stepped gardens that meet the ground. At the base of the towers, an expansive park knits together the greenery from the building facades with gardens, pools, and public circulation. This large landscaped park gently slopes to the north, offering dramatic tower-framed views of the water and more intimate views of the city to the south. Beneath the park level, a podium contains five levels of public space, including retail and cultural facilities as well as land and water transportation hubs. Bridging the center towers at level 45 is a 300-meter-long enclosed glass conservatory that contains hotel public areas and amenities, including an deck that can be enjoyed throughout all seasons of the year. Major thoroughfares feed urban activity from the south as retail streets and grand arcades, fusing the project to the city.

Located on a broad hillside site adjacent to Chongqing’s well-known Eling Park, the design for the Eling Residences grows out of and echoes the dramatic natural topography of the site.

The buildings are organized with terracing villa units climbing the rock slopes and stepping up to the crest of the hill where, along the ridge line, two dome-shaped structures overlook the city. The location and organization of the low-rise terraced buildings endows each of the 126 apartments with natural daylight and affords uninterrupted views of the Yuzhong Peninsula and the Yangtze River. Interwoven with the buildings is a lush landscape comprised of cascading gardens, terraces, overlooks, stairs, and promenades for the residents to enjoy.

At the western edge of the site, a prominent 4-story clubhouse stands as a beacon for the project, signifying the entrance to both Eling Park and the development.

The terraces of the hilltop units provide uninterrupted views to the Yangtze River and city beyond. Each terrace serves as an extension of the apartment, maximizing residents’ access to light and air. Planters are integrated along the length of the terraces, and climbing plants will grow up the trellises to provide additional shading.

The Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives building serves as the national headquarters for a government agency with the highest security requirements. Located at the intersection of New York and Florida avenues, this building has been a catalyst for urban renewal and rejuvenation in the surrounding district. The program called for general office space, extensive training facilities, an auditorium, and auxiliary services.

Notwithstanding security setback requirements, the complex engages and animates the surrounding street edges. The entrance is positioned across from the new Metro station on the southeast corner; retail facilities line 2nd Street (to the east); and a trellised garden wall defines N Street (to the south). In addition a three-story planted, arcaded crescent contains the site to the north and west, enclosing a 48,500-square-foot internal garden and inconspicuously serving as a security barrier.

Auxiliary elements such as loading docks and an inspection booth are integrated into the overall fabric of buildings and garden walls. The provision of a technical subfloor for the distribution of data and mechanical services allows for maximum flexibility. The office space consists of relatively narrow floor plates surrounding a large atrium, thus affording daylight for all workspaces.

Located in the neighborhood of Bishan, a residential area in the suburban heartland of Singapore, this 38-story residential complex explores the balance of high-density living with humanistic concepts of community, landscape, gardens, and daylight.

Breaking down the scale of typical singular tower residential development, the community-based solution of Sky Habitat is a three-dimensional matrix of homes with private terraces, balconies, and common gardens, bringing landscape into the air and maintaining porosity on the skyline. The complex's strong stepped form recalls the community texture of ancient hillside developments and provides for lush vertical greenery, multiple orientations relative to the sun, naturally ventilated units, and generous views, all without compromising planning or structural efficiency.

Three bridging sky gardens link the two stepping towers and create a series of interconnected streets, gardens, and terraces in the air, which provide a variety of areas for common recreation and congregation. As a result, the overall mass is porous and open, allowing breezes to flow through and daylight to penetrate deep into the structure. The stepping geometry allows every residence multiple orientations and a private outdoor space, resulting in a more humane and delicate urban fabric.

At the ground plane, above a sunken parking podium, more than 70 percent of the site is developed into a series of lush gardens, which offer additional outdoor event areas, swimming pools, a tennis court, and walking paths.

This new mixed-use development in the rapidly urbanizing city of Colombo is part of a larger plan by Sri Lanka's urban development agency to create a lakefront promenade. The 69-story development fronts Beira Lake, a manmade lake in the center of the city. The 400-unit residential complex takes full advantage of the relatively small site with a highly rationalized structure that affords every unit cross-ventilation and multiple exposures.

The building form is composed of two slender tower blocks, with one block leaning into the other vertical tower, which supports it. The overall form tapers elegantly toward the sky, maintaining a delicacy on the skyline and maximizing water views. The towers are oriented to the movement of the sun and to harness the tropical breezes, and the units offer 270-degree views of Beira Lake and the Indian Ocean. The staggered stepped form of the leaning tower allows for large terraces, which provide prime city and direct ocean views.

Community gardens and shared outdoor spaces within the building's upper levels feature native Sri Lankan materials and tropical plantings. Other common rooftop amenities at level five, above the retail podium, likewise express the guiding principles of for everyone a garden.

At the ground level, an arcade of retail outlets on the west side faces the lake and sets the stan¬dard for future development along the planned pedestrian promenade. Restaurants on a mezzanine level overlook the promenade and Beira Lake.

Crystal Bridges, both a museum and a cultural center, is located in a ravine with a creek fed by Crystal Springs. Two suspended-cable-and-wood buildings span the ravine, creating two ponds. These structures serve as dams as well as bridges.

The design protects the natural beauty of the site and emphasizes a strong sense of place, employing indigenous materials such as wood, fieldstone, and limestone aggregate. Building walls are concrete with wood inlays, and laminated wood beams compose the roofs. The liberal use of glass throughout the complex provides transparency and enhances views of the site.

The museum comprises a number of independent structures that form a series of pavilions over and alongside the ponds. The two bridge buildings are located at opposite ends of the north pond. The gallery bridge contains galleries while the entry bridge houses reception, dining, and hospitality facilities. The great hall, a multipurpose public space, is surrounded on three sides by the south pond. Additional structures, nestled into the sloping terrain on both sides of the ravine, contain galleries, function rooms, classrooms, a library, curatorial spaces, and administrative offices. In contrast to the convex roofs of the bridges, the concave roofs of these structures visually retain the steep slopes of the site.

The Dream Island Integrated Resort is located on Obudai Island on the Danube River in Budapest, Hungary. The project, totaling over 300,000 square meters, includes an entertainment district, a state-of-the-art casino and convention center, and hotels with over 3,000 rooms - all connected by an active marina and canal system. The project integrates new buildings with a network of existing historic buildings and the lush, natural landscape of Obudai Island.

The Island has two distinct halves, the east and the west, which are defined by the Great Bay and the marina. Visitors arrive at the north end of the Island and are introduced to the Resort by a Grand Fountain. From this location they can choose to circulate into either of the two halves of the Island. To the east is the hotel and casino complex and to the west lies the historic and entertainment district. The hotel complex consists of low, discrete buildings that are small in scale and organized along a man-made canal that is oriented north to south.

The hotel roofs accommodate amenities such as swimming pools, jogging paths and gardens. Running parallel to the canal, and below the level of the hotels, is the cardo - a main street of pedestrian activity with views to the Great Bay. Along the cardo guests have direct access to the marina level containing the casino, convention center, retail, restaurants, and waterfront amenities. To the west of the Great Bay a new museum, theater, and visitor's center are woven into the Roman archaeological site of Hadrian's Governors Palace.

Buildings in the historic and entertainment district, which once housed shipbuilding operations, are carefully preserved and converted to a mixed-use retail and entertainment complex. A pedestrian path, enclosed by a transparent glass ceiling, connects the 1600-seat performing arts theater, restaurants, outdoor caf?s, gardens, and a Film-Museum to the south. At the southernmost tip of the island a 112 meter tall elliptical wheel allows visitors to ascend and view the project, as well as survey the Danube River with the mainland of Buda to the west and Pest to the east.