“This city is strong, robust, self-assured,” says Ole Scheeren of Beijing, where he has lived and worked since the early 2000's, when he came to oversee the construction of the iconic Chinese Central Television (CCTV) Headquarters as Director and Partner of Rem Koolhaas' Dutch firm, OMA. “Even though it has transformed dramatically, it has never lost touch with itself entirely.” When it first appeared, the striking, cantilevered structure was emblematic of a new direction in Beijing architecture, and the the acclaimed architect spent a recent Sunday meandering through the city’s streets, lending his voice to this lucid portrait of the building by filmmaker Montague Fendt. Scheeren broke out on his own in 2010 as the Principal of Büro Ole Scheeren, further developing his standing in Asia by designing the Angkasa Raya, a 268-meter tall landmark building in Kuala Lumpur, and Duo, a large-scale urban development in Singapore. “It is forever vibrant and exciting,” says Scheeren of Beijing’s literal and figurative rise. “Yet fundamentally and unabashedly unglamorous.”