So this is Confluence, where the Rhône and the Saône rivers meet.
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The natural setting seems pretty perfect to build something there. There used to be industry, but it widely had turned into brownfields. So came that masterplan covering 150 ha (370 acres) of land. I think it's currently one of the largest in entire France in a dense environment, along with Paris Rive Gauche that's just as large, and Marseille's Euroméditerranée that covers an even twice larger area.
However, it's not all blank brownfields to entirely redevelop from scratch, for the Sainte-Blandine area includes some fabric developed from the 19th century yet.
What you see a couple of posts above is a bit of les Docks first. The crazy green building will host Euronews's headquarters. The orange one is mainly offices too, hosting the headquarters of developer Groupe Cardinal and a bit of retail like a restaurant. As for the rest, it's all in Denuzière that's where the most significant was built so far.
The area they call Phase II might include some 15-and-more-story buildings, which is what the masterplan still lacks, some taller things as landmarks. Apart from that, it seems fine, definitely some of the best pieces of contemporary urban planning you get in France right now. Although details remain confusing to me because of the size, I've been enjoying watching this, hoping the Lyonnais get more highrises. They need some.
More informations on the Confluence official site, either in French or in English.
http://www.lyon-confluence.fr/en/index.html