Set for completion in 2014, the Shanghai Tower will anchor the city’s Lujiazui commercial district—one of Asia’s leading fi nancial centers.
Image ©Gensler
Tongji University is the Architect of Record; T ornton Tomasetti is the structural engineer; Cosentini Associates are the mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineers; RWDI is the wind consultant; and Dow Corning is the material supplier for sealants. T e development is slated for completion next year in 2015. “Shanghai Tower represents a
new way of defi ning and creating cities,” said Art Gensler, FAIA, Founder of Gensler. “By incorporating best practices in sustainability and high-performance design, by weaving the building into the urban fabric of Shanghai and drawing community life into the building, Shanghai Tower redefi nes the role of tall buildings in contemporary cities and raises the bar for the next generation of super-highrises.” Shanghai Tower is located in the
Lujiazui Finance and Trade Zone, an area of Shanghai that was farmland a little over 20 years ago. T e area is China’s fi rst super-tall district, as Shanghai Tower rises to complete a trio of towers including the adjacent Jin Mao Tower (1,380’) and Shanghai
Image ©Gensler
World Financial Center (1,614’). “With the topping out of Shanghai Tower, the Lujiazui trio will serve as a stunning representation of our past, our present and China’s boundless future,” said Jun Xia, Shanghai Tower design leader and Gensler principal.
TOWER STRUCTURE T e tower takes the form of nine cylindrical buildings stacked atop each other with a central 90-foot by 90-foot concrete core, literally and fi guratively the heart of the building, which acts in concert with a system of outriggers and supercolumns. Two-story belt trusses support the base of each zone, marking the divisions of the building into nine zones. T e inner layer of the double- skin façade encloses the stacked buildings, while the exterior façade creates the building envelope. T e spaces between the two façade layers create nine atrium sky gardens. Each zone can be considered an independent city or village. People can go up directly to the respective zone from the ground and then take shuttle elevators to each fl oor. T is can reduce the pressure of high population concentrations on the ground level. Every single zone has its own mechanical fl oor and refuge fl oor, which establishes an independent system within the zone that can save energy and enhance the evacuation process of the whole building. Each of the building’s
‘neighborhoods’ rises from a sky lobby at its base – a light-fi lled garden atrium with the intent of fostering socialization. Much like plazas and civic squares in traditional cities, the public sky atria off er spaces within Shanghai Tower for
20 MARCH-APRIL 2014 WIRE ROPE EXCHANGE
interaction and community gathering space with restaurants, cafés, coff ee shops and convenience stores, as well as lush landscaping throughout. Shanghai Tower’s interior and exterior skins are transparent, establishing a visual connection between the tower’s interiors and the urban fabric of Shanghai. On the ground level, retail and event spaces, in tandem with abundant entrances on the site and a subway station under the building, continue the physical and visual connections between the tower and the city. T e structure sits atop a foundation that includes the use of nearly 1,000 concrete-and-steel bore piles, 3 feet in diameter, driven into the ground,
When densely populated cities attract even more people, there’s literally no where to go but up.
- Judith Dupre´
and an 18-foot deep Mat Foundation that required a team of trucks to continuously pump and pour concrete over a 63-hour period in 2010. T e Shanghai Tower, LEED
Certifi ed, boasts fi gures of 121 fl oors, over 300 hotel rooms in what will be the world’s tallest hotel, 1800 parking spaces, and includes the world’s fastest elevators. Mitsubishi Electric, the supplier of all 106 elevators, including three express elevators with never before-seen speeds up to 40 mph (nearly 60 feet per second.)
WIND-TUNNEL TESTING AND ROTATIONAL DESIGN MINIMIZES SWAY While most skyscrapers account for wind sway in the design, the Shanghai Tower’s directive was clear – sway was to be minimized to the fullest extent. To complicate matters more, Shanghai sits directly on the coast and is a common target for annual
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