Shanghaied Bob: The Shanghai Tower

This is the third and last in a three part post on the tallest buildings in China. The first post was about the Jin Mao Tower click here the smallest of the three, at 88 floors, completed in 1988. The second post was on the Shanghai World Financial Center click here the second tallest building in China, at 101 floors, completed in August 2008. This post is about the Shanghai Tower when completed in the end of 2014 will have 121 floors, will be the the tallest building in China and second tallest building in the world surpassed only by the Burj Khalifa in Dubai.

The Shanghai Tower will complete a 20 year plan to have three imposing skyscrapers all located in a city block of each other in Shanghai's Lujiazui district in Pudong. Also known as the Three Brothers this will be the centerpiece of the first super-high rise district of its kind in Asia and the symbol of China's growing economic global influence.

The design of the Shanghai Tower has many unique features. It will be organized internally as a series of nine indoor zones stacked one on top of the other. Each zone will be 12-15 stories high with separate elevator systems, shuttling people within that zone and then shuttling people within the building

There is a concrete core enclosed by an inner glass skin which is circular in design and an outer glass facade that is cam-shaped. The space between the two skins will form an atrium that will house a lobby with landscapes and public gardens. These 9 sky gardens will improve air quality and providing public space where users can interact and mingle. Each sky lobby will contain cafes, restaurants, retail shops and exhibition space and provide a 360-degree view of the city.

Most single façade structure have highly reflective glass to lower the heat absorption. With the Shanghai Tower both layers will be transparent and act like an insulating blanket which will reduce energy costs. The indoor air will be circulated through each atrium to temper the space, keeping the sun's heat out in summer and the buildings heat in during the winter. At night the building will glow translucent.

The cam-shaped exterior twists 120 degrees from bottom to top, it has a tapering profile and rounded corners which will allow the building to withstand typhoon winds forces common to Shanghai. The twist will reduce wind loads on the building by 24%. The top of the tower will collect rainwater to be used in the heating and cooling systems and will house 270 wind turbines to generate electricity for lighting the building.

Because of the investors forward thinking vision, they were looking to build an energy efficient super-tall building, they allowed the designers to create a truly remarkable design and spend a little bit more money upfront to build a better more efficient building which will use less energy in the long run.

There is still a year and a half to go before it is completed. I started taking pictures of the towers when we first arrived and it has been fascinating to watch the progress of the building. Someday, it would be great to return to Shanghai and take a few more pictures of the completed tower.

Fun facts

1200 construction works are on the site at any one time, working in shifts around the clock

Once opened the tower is expected to accommodate some 16000 people daily.

Located between the 84 and 110 floors will be the Jinjiang Hotel the highest in the world.

The tower will have 106 elevators