Isabelle Laurent
Eling Residences are spread across the highest plateau of Eling Hill, adjacent to Chongqing’s well-known Eling Park and overlooking the Yuzhong Peninsula—the central point of the Chongqing municipality—and the Yangtze River.
The 460,000-square-foot development contains 126 apartments organized into terraces that echo the slope of the site. The typology of the buildings changes with the hillside’s ascent, from several terraced configurations to a pair of freestanding, dome-shaped villas at the crest of the hill. This topographical design inspiration can be seen in the residences’ upward curvature as well as in the stepped organization of the individual buildings, which offer all apartments uninterrupted views of their surroundings.
Complementing the sloped low-rise buildings is an intricate landscape system, which interweaves terraces, gardens, trellises, overlooks, stairs, and promenades throughout the site. The combination of landscape and architecture works together to evoke the character of lush, hanging gardens, integrating the project site with the green oasis of Eling Park. The terraced levels maximize residents’ access to light, air, and greenery, while architectural screens partially shade individual apartments, extending living spaces outward into the garden landscape. A four-story clubhouse, pools, and additional recreational areas create a sense of community, echoing Safdie Architects’ commitment to humanizing scale and creating vibrant shared spaces.
Project Info
Architects: Safdie Architects
Country: China, Chongqing
Area: 460000 ft²
Year: 2018
Photographs: ARCH-EXIST
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, Vanke
Local Design Institute: CCTEG
Façade Consultant And Interior Design: Design Paradigms
Design Principal: Moshe Safdie
Principals In Charge: Greg Reaves, Christopher Mulvey
Project Manager: Jeffrey Huggins
Façade Consultant: Design Paradigms
Interior Design: Design Paradigms
Lighting Design: BPI
Landscape Architect: FuturePolis and Change Studio
Tags: 2018Arch-ExistChinaChongqingConcreteEling ResidencesSafdie Architects
Isabelle Laurent
Isabelle Laurent is a Built Projects Editor at Arch2O, recognized for her editorial insight and passion for contemporary architecture. She holds a Master’s in Architectural Theory from École Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture de Paris-Belleville. Before joining Arch2O in 2016, she worked in a Paris-based architectural office and taught as a faculty adjunct at the École Spéciale d’Architecture in Paris. Isabelle focuses on curating projects around sustainability, adaptive reuse, and urban resilience. With a background in design and communication, she brings clarity to complex ideas and plays a key role in shaping Arch2O’s editorial
