In Ningbo, Two Vast Construction Sites Highlight the Spectacular Scale of High-End Construction in China

Photographer Marc Goodwin—perhaps best known to our readers for his series shooting architectural offices in London, Seoul, Beijing, Paris, and the Nordic countries—recently travelled to Ningbo, China, on behalf of RSH+P (Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners) and Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects (SHL).

The resulting photo essay at once captures a series of projects currently under construction—including “Ningbo Gateway”, a luxury residential tower by RSH+P, and a range of accompanying buildings by SHL—while simultaneously revealing a sense of the very particular atmosphere of this industrial port city.

For Goodwin, this was no ordinary job. “Severe rain tested the assumption that good architecture doesn’t need good weather,” he said. “Many of the buildings were still construction sites, and the surroundings were not the stuff of standard architectural photography.”