Dubbed an engineering marvel, China’s highly anticipated Raffles City Chongqing project is nearly complete.Devised by world-renowned architect Moshe Safdie, it measures a staggering 1.12-million-square-meters and consists of a collection of eight towers and a gigantic connecting skybridge — which is being called a “horizontal skyscraper.”The 250-meter-long skybridge, named Crystal, is said to be one of the world’s highest.When open, it will have a viewing gallery, sky gardens, an infinity pool and various restaurants.
If that wasn’t enough, the skybridge also transforms into a giant light beam at night time, illuminating the sky with a rousing light show.The Raffles City Chongqing complex will also include a 230,000-square-meter shopping mall, 1,400 residential apartments, a luxury hotel and 160,000 square meters of lavish office space.
Work on the $3.8 billion megastructure began six years ago.According to Lucas Loh, deputy CEO and CIO of CapitaLand China, trees are currently being transported over to “enliven the skybridge,” which will apparently feature the tallest observation deck in western China.“After six years of construction using state of the art engineering technologies, we are proud to present in Raffles City Chongqing an iconic architectural form resembling a powerful sail surging forward on the historic Chaotianmen site,” Loh said in a statement.