When Foster + Partners and Arup started work on Terminal 3 at Beijing Capital International Airport, the team knew it had less than four years to design and build the project.

When Zhu Pei and his partner, Wu Tong, began designing Digital Beijing for a site on the western edge of the Olympic Green, the National Swimming Center and National Stadium were already under construction.

When the Hong Kong design firm Chang Bene Design began renovating a single-family residence on Hong Kong's south shore, they took on a project that epitomizes the challenges of living on the island: though small and crowded with narrow homes, Hong Kong is full of wealthy residents who are increasingly demanding more from their living spaces.