M
ega structures are taking over
our city skylines as never
before, with more cloud scraping
high-rises being built every year.
Each new build is higher and more
magnificent than the last. And
nowhere is this pace of change
more obvious than China.
Nadav Kander documents the
country’s constantly changing
landscape and the impact of its
colossal constructions.
Work from his epic photographic
project, including Chongqing IV
(Sunday Picnic), are on show at the
Barbican Centre in London as part
of an exhibition called Constructing
Worlds.
He spent three years charting the
buildings sprouting up alongside the
Yangtze, from its mouth in the East
China Sea to its source high in the
Himalayas. His images have been
compared to landscapes by Turner.
But even this prolific chronicler
is struggling to keep up with the
pace of change in China. His photo
Sunday Picnic is taken at a spot
soon to be dominated by six giant
tower blocks linked by a quarter
of a kilometre-high, open-topped
garden bridge.
With twelve buildings already
over 200 metres and more in the
pipeline, Chongqing – a city of
7million people – is fast becoming
one of the world’s tallest. The new
additions, by Safdie Architects,
will hit 348 metres above the flood
plain.
In addition to linking the towers, the
bridge will boast parks, gardens,
pools and a unique view back to the
rest of Chongqing. Within the bridge
level’s hull is a full floor of hotel
lobby, restaurants and clubs.
china
BIG
WORDS // JOSS SULLIVAN
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Chongqing IV (Sunday Picnic), Chongqing Municipality, 2006 © Nadav Kander, courtesy Flowers Gallery.
