Yes, is does remind me of much of what's happening architecturally throughout Northern Europe right now (and has been for a while;
this building, for example, comes to mind). I think it's an extremely attractive and creative solution -- they're fitting nearly 1,000 residential units plus retail into a very irregular site, without a tower. (Or 1125 units, with a stubby tower, depending). Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I think this is significantly more residential than Phase I of the AAT development and roughly equivalent to what's proposed for Phase II. So, you know, maybe you folks should be celebrating.
As for whether this design creates 'a lot of space that could be challenging to keep safe after dark', it looks to me like there actually isn't much space that's accessible from the street -- a lot of what might look like courtyard is actually green roof. Moreover, I can only say that having 1,000 residential units' worth of additional 'eyes on the street' can only help towards making the whole neighborhood much safer. The amount of courtyard space does seem a bit stingy -- but then there's a sprawling park right across the street, so maybe the residents will use that (and displace the existing hooligans).