The timeline continued as visitors descended the stairs from the present to the Singularity: the furthest hypothetical point in time predicted by futurist Ray Kurzweil. Each stair landing expanded on the future of Thinking (emergence of artificial and collective intelligence); Sensing (virtual and augmented reality); Making (manual construction to robotic manufacturing); and Moving (Interplanetary migration).

BIG&#;s design has evolved over the years to ensure the best possible solutions in function, program, sustainability, and future security. Designed as a piece of social infrastructure, the travel center is shaped for the flow of people and public life. The building celebrates movement and creates a welcoming, warm and transparent mobility hub that will become an important social and economic node redefining the city’s infrastructure and landscape.

BIG’s design ensures that the tower apartments have optimal conditions towards sun and views. The bar units are given value through their spectacular views and direct access to the roofscapes, activating the outdoor realm. The exterior facades are developed to correspond to the different orientations and solar conditions, creating a diverse façade which varies from the viewer’s vantage point and the position of the sun.

Double height spaces create a visual connection between the different programs. The structural approach consists of concrete slabs and timber framing supporting a roof that is draping across the site in peaks and valleys. The landscape around the building provides two larger open entry plazas and a series of outdoor studios spilling out from inside, creating a gradient between softscape and hardscape around the site.

With Chongqing’s unique location between the mountains, impressive cloud formations shield the building from direct sun exposure and creates a special atmosphere condition that allows the façade designs to be more transparent than usual. To protect the façades and exterior public spaces from further sun radiation and heavy rain, the building’s rooftops are extended by a significant distance, depending on the façade’s orientation. The roof also drops all the way to the central courtyard in one place, creating access to the roof lush garden, and in other places, the roof lifts in two corners to create entryways from the inside.