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Urban Glen, Hangzhou

More than a decade after the CCTV Headquarters in Beijing opened to become, arguably, China’s best-known contemporary building, its co-designer Ole Scheeren continues to leave his footprint on the county. The German architect’s firm, Büro Ole Scheeren, currently has major projects underway in various Chinese cities, from Shenzhen to Nanjing.

Among the most striking among is Urban Glen, a pair of dramatically stepped towers containing nearly 900,000 square feet of office, hotel and leisure space in the eastern city of Hangzhou. Like the hills surrounding Hangzhou on three sides, the two volumes — one of which houses a Rosewood Hotel — appear to cascade into a manmade valley of roof terraces, shops and public art.