IVERTICALNVESTMENTS
THE SHANGHAI TOWER REDEFINES THE ROLE OF SUPER-TALL BUILDINGS IN HIGH-DENSITY URBAN CITIES
BY E.H. EVANS
With nearly 25 million people, Shanghai is the largest metropolis on Earth. It’s home to the largest daily commute of people in the world. It’s a global fi nancial center in the world’s fastest growing region, and serves as the world’s busiest container port. But it also accounts for over 1 billion gallons of sewage daily, and smog levels that on certain days make going outside dangerous. T is is the scene of an emerging China - and it’s continuing to grow at an unprecedented rate, prompting leaders and residents to confront growing pains with new solutions.
Google a skyline picture of Shanghai from just a few years back compared to today; it’s awe- inspiring. Over the past decade alone, the population has increased by 37 percent, with fi ve times as many vehicles added to the streets during that time, with no signs of slowing down. More people and vehicles mean more congestion. In a city where space is fast-becoming the most precious commodity, Shanghai is literally running out of it. T e obvious need is to build ‘up,’ but the challenge is to do so in a smarter way. Skyscrapers have traditionally
been an American phenomenon, but a new landscape has been unfolding over the past few decades - a sort of perfect storm between construction
18 MARCH-APRIL 2014 WIRE ROPE EXCHANGE
needs and material innovation - and the desperate need for space in many cities has only added fuel to the fi re for vertical investments. As Judith Dupré, author of
“Skyscrapers: A History Of T e World’s Most Extraordinary Buildings” notes, we are “in the midst of a new skyscraper boom. What started in the U.S. has since followed to Asia. When densely populated cities attract even more people, there’s literally nowhere to go but up.” She adds that, “materials such as high- strength concrete and reinforced polymers have enabled buildings to go up with increased safety at a lower cost.” China alone currently has more than 14 buildings and another 8 under construction that are taller
than the Empire State Building. T ese are literally cities within cities. Visionaries in Shanghai are embracing the idea that ‘new problems require new solutions,’ and, in 2008, began construction on the Shanghai Tower. After topping out in August, 2013 at 2,073 feet, the Shanghai Tower is now offi cially the tallest building in China, and the 2nd tallest building in the world. Standing out among the packed skyline of this city is a tall order, but that’s exactly what the Shanghai Tower sets out do in more ways than one. T e project’s developer is the
Shanghai Tower Construction & Development Co., Ltd; Gensler is the Design Architect; the Architectural Design and Research Institute of
Image ©Gensler
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