safdie architects' terraced eling residences ascend the chinese hillside

safdie architects completes its eling residences in chongqing, china. the project has been developed in partnership with singapore-based city developments limited (CDL) and shenzhen-headquartered vanke – one of the largest developers in the people’s republic of china. safdie’s eling residences are spread across the highest plateau of eling hill, adjacent to chongqing’s popular eling park and overlooking the yangtze river.

all images by arch-exist

safdie architects’ 460,000 square-foot development is comprised of 126 apartments organized into terraces that follow the slope of the site. the typology of the buildings transforms as it ascends the hillside, from several terraced organizations to a pair of freestanding, dome-like villas at the hill’s crest. the project’s inspiration came directly from the topography both organizationally and formally. this can be seen in the residences’ upward curvature as well as in the stepping layout of the individual buildings, which offer all apartments unobstructed views of the surroundings.

the sloped building organization is complimented by an intricate landscape system, which weaves terraces, gardens, trellises, overlooks, stairs, and promenades throughout the site. this marriage of landscape and architecture evokes the character of a collection of lush, hanging gardens, integrating the project into the green oasis of eling park. the terraces maximize each resident’s access to light, air, and greenery. meanwhile, architectural screens offer shade to individual apartments and extend living spaces outward into the garden landscape. additional recreational areas — including swimming pools and a four-story clubhouse — create a sense of community, recalling safdie architects’ commitment to humanizing scale and creating vibrant shared spaces.

project info:

safdie architects: moshe safdie (design principal), greg reaves (principal in charge, boston), christopher mulvey (principal in charge, shanghai), jeffrey huggins (project manager).

project team: daniel cho, michael guran, mike mckee, sanny ng, laura rushfeldt, damon sidel, sarah wan, hu wei, ye yang, jing yu.

client: city developments limited (singapore) and vanke (shenzhen, china)

local design institute: CCTEG chongqing

façade consultant and interior design: design paradigms

landscape architect: futurepolis and change landscape studio

lighting design: BPI