Translated from original AD China article here 

Safdie Architects: These Masterpieces are Completed by a Team of Less than 100 People?  

Moshe Safdie was born in Haifa, Israel, in July 1938 and moved to Canada as a teenager, thus beginning his career in architecture. He has devoted much of his time to large-scale urban design and founded his own firm in 1964. Jewel at Singapore Changi Airport, Marina Bay Sands Hotel, Raffles City Chongqing's 300-meter horizontal skyscraper... These excellent works are all born here. To find out more, we toured this intriguing studio...  

01. He sets sail a giant ship in Chongqing - the mountain city of China

From the other side of the river, Raffles City Chongqing's futuristic design is on full display, the picture comes from ©Raffles City Chongqing

On the distant mountains, the damp fog from the night before is still lingering. Faint beams of light dance between the buildings; also between the layers of buildings, the air is full of life, always reminiscing of the smell of hot pot, which belongs here - maybe you already know, this is the mountain city of Chongqing.

Exterior view of Raffles City Chongqing, located at the confluence of the Jialing River and the Yangtze River, image from ©Raffles City Chongqing

The "giant ship" in front of us is one of the newest landmarks in Chongqing, Raffles City Chongqing. The area where Raffles City Chongqing is located is the most treasured land of Chongqing, and often compared to the “dragon’s head” of the Yangtze River. "City garden", "economic and cultural center", "world-facing stage"... None of these is an overstatement when it comes to describing the site.. This is also CapitaLand's ninth Raffles City in the world, and its largest in investment and volume. Gibson's creation of the cyberpunk world seems to take shape here, and it is the internationally renowned architect Moshe Safdie who leads the architecture and landscape design of this structure which stands at the unique confluence of the two rivers.

Moshe Safdie in his office at headquarters.

"Even I find it incredible."

Such a sentence echoes the pride that the prolific neomodernist architect in his eighties feels about all the works he and his team have done. Safdie, an Israeli Canadian, has enjoyed a career spanning more than 50 years, one which included the creation of Jewel at Singapore's Changi Airport and Marina Bay Sands. One of the exhibitions at the Montreal World Expo in 1967, Habitat '67, was also one of the design works that made him famous. Each of these works designed by him has its own personality and often goes on to  become one of the landmarks and the "soul" of the city.

Safdie Architects is headquartered in an old brick building in Massachusetts. The interior of the building is supported by wooden beams, enjoys a generous connection to the exterior and plenty of natural light.

In fact, Safdie knew exactly how to maintain production and quality as an architect. "Sometimes we could have taken on another project at the same time, but that meant I wouldn't be able to really get involved." The inauguration of Marina Bay Sands in Singapore in 2011 was seen by Safdie as a real turning point: "The completion of the project made us feel like we could do anything, to tackle multiple multibillion-dollar mixed-use projects at the same time, all with a team of fewer than 100 people."

02. They all come from this elite team

Safdie Architects is headquartered in an old brick building almost entirely covered by ivy in Boston, USA

Safdie founded the firm in Montreal, Canada, in 1964, but for last 50 years he has based his practice in Boston, USA, in an old brick building almost entirely covered by ivy. Over the years he has been determined to keep the company team compact because he wants to be involved in every project from start to finish. "I'm interested in all aspects of the project, and a lot of the important decisions I make on the construction site – I'm fully involved in the process," he says.

Interior of the Safdie Architects building. 

With only about 80 members at Safdie Architects' headquarters in Boston, the streamlined team has completed a number of breathtaking mega-projects, including The Marina Bay Sands hotel in Singapore and Raffles City Chongqing. It is no wonder that when asked how to create complex, mega-scale, mixed-use buildings, with such a streamlined team, the eighty-something modernist and prolific architect finds everything so incredible.

Safdie Architects' model shop, almost all of the firm's architectural models are made here. 

Some people may think that such a compact team of less than a hundred people cannot have completed such massive volumes of work, but it is undeniable that it is exactly this team of 80 people who has created work whose value has only increased since its birth. 

From shopping venues with indoor gardens to public buildings such as hospitals and cultural centres, all of Safdie Architects' projects focus on natural elements such as nature, light and air. These clusters of mixed-use projects often take on dynamic forms and become urban landmarks with their unique characteristics.

The 4-storey atrium in the office houses Safdie Architects' latest supertall mixed-use project, Raffles City Chongqing. 

A survey of the firm's projects does not reveal a consistent style or aesthetic, the only connection being the shared experience that people feel, and the local culture they integrate. One of the team's recent works, the Raffles City Chongqing mixed-use project, is representative of the integration of local culture. The complex, consisting of 8 towers, a commercial retail podium and a public garden at the top of the podium, is also the firm's largest project to date, bringing together residences, office buildings, shopping malls and hotels, as well as a closed tubular horizontal glass bridge connecting four of the towers.

Full view of the Raffles City Chongqing model from the central staircase 

The sky bridge is like a "horizontal skyscraper" with an indoor area of more than 10,000 square meters, with a public observation deck, sky garden, restaurants, bars and event spaces, a hotel lobby, and an exclusive club for members including a 50-meter infinity pool. Safdie said that he felt he already had a close connection with China. From the high attention generated by Raffles City Chongqing since its opening, it is obvious that Safdie has perfectly integrated his understanding of Chinese culture and architectural design.

03. The all-round "thinker" trains partners in this way

From left to right, Jaron Lubin, Sean Scensor, Paul Gross, Carrie Yoon, Moshe Safdie, Christopher Mulvey, Jeffrey Huggins... some of the partners at Safdie Architects. 

Safdie seems to be not only building "soulful" buildings, but also this excellent elite team behind him. Over the years, Safdie has supported and nurtured a number of like-minded core partners. The team does not simply follow Safdie's design principles, but sincerely believes in the value of these principles. A few years ago, Safdie decided to establish a partnership system for the firm, with 7 partners at present. Most of the partners in their 40s have been with the firm for nearly 20 years. "I chose partners from a talented younger generation, most of whom joined just after graduation.

A building materials display space where architects compare and select the most suitable building design materials. Safdie Architects insists on controlling the details of the design. 

The cohesion of the team is inseparable from the strong principles pursued by Safdie. "He was an all-round thinker," Jaron Lubin, a partner who has been with Safdie Architects for more than 15 years, describes Safdie in his eyes. "We're more like a family" Lubin said, "We've been working together for a long time and trust each other.” With such trust – like between family members – it is not difficult to understand how it is possible to do such good work.

The reception area is surrounded by project models and photographs of built work by Safdie Architects. 

"I hope that the next generation will continue the principles and ideas we have established together, not simply carry them on, but with a genuine passion for them."

In addition to its US headquarters, the firm has small offices in Jerusalem, Singapore and Shanghai, as well as on-site staff around the world. Despite the differences in time zones and cultures, the whole firm has always been as closely knitted like a big family as Safdie had hoped.

The large work table in the office is used to allow architects to discuss proposals and inspire discussions. 

This particular "workplace ecosystem" is underpinned by the close, enduring relationships its team has with external clients and consultants, including talented individuals in the fields of engineering, landscape architecture, specialty design, interior design and art. There are also large work tables in the studio that the team can use to discuss and brainstorm, so that the architects' thinking is not limited. Lubin added: "We usually work long-term with a fixed group of collaborators who also belong to our family.”

A corner of Safdie's office. 

"I have traveled to China many times in the last 50 years, I have seen the evolution of China, and have spent a long time in China... I gradually gained an understanding of China."

Safdie first set foot in China in 1973, accompanying renowned Canadian architect Arthur Erickson and then Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau on a visit. From old bungalows in Shanghai, to skyscrapers in Beijing, to today's ever-growing new supertall buildings, the architect has witnessed China's speed and its dramatic changes. Safdie says his next goal is to build a cultural building in China, illustrating his deep understanding of China and its rich cultures.

Translated from original AD China article here