He started his own firm with Ecuadoran Carlos Zapata in 1998 with a commission to rebuild Soldier Field, the Chicago Bears' stadium.
[6] Xintiandi’s influence “is such that every city wants to have one.” Wood has applied his formula to projects all over mainland China, from Chongqing to Wuhan to Hangzhou.
In Hangzhou he adapted 10 blocks of a sleepy lakeside area into a resort with pagoda-style roof-scapes, trellis-covered walkways and a high-tech conference center.
For his $80 million Cambridge Watertown project in Zhujiajiao, he has proposed narrow canals inspired by China’s 13th-century water-town plans stitched together with picturesque foot bridges and semi-detached contemporary-style condos.
[7] As Paul Goldberger pointed out, "Xintiandi is so successful that Shui On has been asked to replicate its formula elsewhere in China, and other developers are trying to build copycat projects.