Skyline Horizons: Reshaping the Asian Metropolis 

Asia’s skylines have become a visible expression of the region’s ambition, yet modern tall buildings are measured by more than simply their scale. As cities across the continent strive for greater density, resilience and connectivity, towers are evolving into complex mixed-use environments that bring together workplaces, retail and public life.  

In this Q&A conversation, Principal and chair of our San Francisco and Los Angeles studios Patrick Daly explores how we’re approaching and overcoming these challenges by drawing on our experience of delivering high-performance towers that combine architectural vision, technical integration and meaningful urban impact. 

Entire skylines are being created within a single generation. In many Asian cities, districts such as Pudong in Shanghai, Marina Bay in Singapore or parts of Shenzhen have emerged within the last 20 to 30 years, transforming the urban landscape in roughly the same timeframe as a person’s professional career. The scale of this change extends beyond individual towers. Traditionally in Western markets, a supertall tower is often a landmark project – think of The Shard in London or the Willis Tower in Chicago. However, across Asia, towers are commonly delivered as part of entire districts, transit-oriented developments or mixed-use urban ecosystems. The focus is not simply on the building itself, but on how it contributes to the life of the city.  

 This has made Asia an important testing ground in tall building innovation. Most of the world’s supertall towers are now located in the region, while many advances in structural systems, façade performance, construction delivery and integrated mixed-use planning are being explored at scale there first. The region has effectively inherited and evolved what was once considered an American building typology.  

At the same time, Asia’s cultural identity is increasingly influencing tower design. The most compelling towers respond to climate, culture and context in meaningful ways, creating places that feel connected to their surroundings rather than being interchangeable from one city to the next. The result is a growing differentiation between places like Singapore, Seoul, Shanghai, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur, despite all participating in the same global high-rise economy. This is creating healthy competition between cities, with Asian skylines increasingly becoming instruments of economic positioning. Tall towers are showcasing global relevance, technological sophistication and investment attractiveness. The skyline itself is becoming part of a city’s brand and a declaration of its global aspirations.  

Ultimately, what makes Asia unique today is the speed and scale at which ideas about density, mobility and urban life are being tested. Architecture, infrastructure, economic development and national ambition are being considered together, reshaping entire metropolitan identities at a pace unmatched anywhere else in the world. 

Several trends are driving the shift from decorative crowns to performance-led design. For instance, open and sculpted crowns can improve aerodynamic performance by reducing wind loads, enhancing occupant comfort and supporting more efficient structural systems. On many projects, a crown also contributes to environmental performance through natural ventilation, solar control, passive cooling and integrating building services. Crown design is also being increasingly tailored to local climatic conditions, particularly in Asia and the Middle East where crowns can improve airflow, reduce heat gain and support outdoor use. 

 At the same time, advances in engineering are creating new opportunities for structural expression. Rather than concealing how a building works, architects and engineers are increasingly revealing structural systems as part of a tower’s architectural language, creating a clearer connection between performance and form. This collaborative approach often results in designs where a crown is not an addition to the building, but a continuation of the logic that shapes the overall tower. 

What’s equally important is the role crowns can play in supporting human experience. Many now incorporate observation decks, sky gardens, hospitality uses or shared amenity spaces, creating destinations that extend activity higher into the building. These spaces offer new perspectives on a city while strengthening the relationship between the tower and wider public realm. 

Ultimately, the future of tower design is moving from asking ‘What should a crown look like?’ to ‘What should a crown do?’ The most memorable towers are becoming those whose architectural identity is inseparable from their performance. 

The starting point should be the city itself. Successful towers strengthen the public realm by contributing to streets, plazas, transport networks and pedestrian activity. From there, design operates across multiple scales, shaping skylines while creating meaningful human experiences through materiality, landscape transparency and connections to place. A clear and consistent architectural language should carry through from a tower’s base to its crown, ensuring the building reads as a coherent whole. 

 Equally important is how a tower meets the ground. Setbacks, podiums, terraces and landscaped transitions can help moderate scale and create a more comfortable relationship with the surrounding city. Active and accessible lower levels should also encourage engagement, enabling a tower to participate in urban life rather than stand apart from it. Overall, the strongest towers are not only defined by their silhouette, but by how they support public life, environmental performance and the broader character of their context. 

Ultimately, tall towers are most successful when the experience at street level is as carefully considered as the skyline profile. When architecture responds to both a city and its people, towers become more than landmarks. They become meaningful parts of urban fabric. 

You led the design for the Sunshine Insurance Finance Plaza in Sanya, Sunshine Financial Centre in Beijing and Sunshine Financial Tower in Shenzhen. How did you translate the same corporate identity into three vastly different urban contexts? 

These projects were connected by a shared set of principles rather than a common architectural expression. While each tower embodied transparency, innovation, performance and long-term value, each responded uniquely to its urban context: 

• Sanya Sunshine Insurance Finance Plaza responded to its coastal setting, creating a flagship workplace environment shaped by climate and landscape. 

• Beijing Sunshine Financial Centre reflected the scale and formality of an established financial district, with a focus on clarity, presence and enduring performance. 

• Shenzhen Sunshine Financial Tower adopted a more dynamic and expressive character, reflecting the city’s entrepreneurial energy and rapid growth. 

 What united these projects was a commitment to creating places that support people, perform responsibly and contribute positively to the city around them. Rather than applying a consistent visual language across every building, each was delivered via a set of shared values though approached through the lens of local culture, climate and urban conditions. 

As mixed-use transit-oriented developments become denser and more complex, we must think beyond individual buildings and create complete neighbourhoods. The most successful global projects with the strongest precincts are not defined by the height or visual prominence of their towers, but by how they strengthen the public realm, connect to transport networks, encourage walkability and support activity throughout the day. Success begins with prioritising the experience between buildings, ensuring development contributes to the life of the city rather than simply increasing its density. 

 In practice, this means investing in active streets, retail, community amenities and pedestrian connections. This infrastructure can be supported by a network of plazas, parks and public spaces that encourage movement and social interaction. Fine-grain urbanism, varied frontages and carefully considered street-level experiences help large developments feel welcoming and accessible, creating a stronger connection between a precinct and those who use it every day. 

Global experience also highlights the value of integrating diverse uses across a precinct rather than separating residential, workplace, retail, hospitality and civic functions into isolated buildings. Social infrastructure such as childcare, recreation, cultural venues and community spaces should be embedded from the outset. As cities continue to grow, focus is increasingly shifting from individual towers to the relationships between buildings, public space and mobility networks, creating places that are connected, adaptable and active beyond traditional working hours. 

Equally important is ensuring that a scheme responds to its local context. While many cities share similar ambitions around growth and density, the most successful precincts are shaped by local culture, climate and patterns of urban life. Environmental responsiveness and resilience, occupant wellbeing and long-term performance should inform planning decisions from the earliest stages, as strategic tower placement can improve sunlight, wind conditions and the overall quality of public space. 

Ultimately, successful high-rise precincts are measured not by the number of towers they contain, but by their ability to foster walkability, social interaction, diversity and a genuine sense of place. The most enduring developments are those designed with change in mind, combining adaptable buildings, future-ready infrastructure and coordinated precinct planning to create lasting value for both a city and the communities it supports. 

Jakarta and Manila are growth-driven markets where rapid urbanisation, expanding middle-class populations and significant investment in transport infrastructure are driving demand for large-scale mixed-use and transit-oriented developments. These projects are often tasked with creating entirely new urban districts, placing a strong emphasis on connectivity, liveability and long-term resilience. Climate resilience is also an increasingly important design driver in these cities, with greater emphasis on shading, ventilation, flood mitigation and creating comfortable tropical public spaces.  

 By contrast, Hong Kong and Shanghai represent more mature, land-constrained markets where density, efficiency and asset optimisation are critical development drivers. While these cities remain benchmarks for technical sophistication and high-density urbanism, emerging markets such as Jakarta and Manila offer the chance to shape entirely new centres of activity and define the next chapter of Asia’s urban growth.