Setting a record as the “world’s longest horizontal skyscraper,” Raffles City by Safdie Architects has officially opened in Chongqing, China. The complex features eight towers, four of which support the clear glass promenade offering public access to some of the city’s most incredible views.

Planned by Israeli-born Canadian architect Moshe Safdie in collaboration with CapitaLand, one of the largest diversified real estate groups in Asia, Raffles City is truly a feat of engineering. The site is exposed to strong winds, so the glass conservatory known as “The Crystal” features an advanced system of frictional pendulum bearings and seismic dampers to make it more flexible. The promenade alone is made of 12,000 tons of steel, 3,000 sections of glass panels, and 5,000 aluminum panels. Located in an urban district between the Yangtze and Jialing rivers, the 1.12-million-square-meter project contains a shopping mall, offices, 1400 residential apartments, and a luxury hotel in addition to the themed observation deck, sky gardens full of mature trees, infinity pool, and food and beverage zone found in the public areas.

“Projects of this scale and density can easily be overbearing and imposing, impenetrable and seeming to turn their back on the cities of which they are a part,” says Safdie. “Raffles City Chongqing, although vertically organized into a series of towers, strives to connect to the city’s existing network of...