The Quintessential Skyscraper
The Shanghai Tower is a supertall skyscraper currently under construction in the Pudong district of Shanghai, China. Designed by Gensler, a leading global architectural design firm, the signature tower is designed to achieve LEED Gold certification. Upon its completion in 2014, it will be standing approximately 632 meters (2,074 feet) high at 121 stories, with a total floor area of 380,000 m2 (4,090,285 square feet).
Designed by a local team of Gensler architects to embody Shanghai’s rich culture, Shanghai Tower will anchor one of East Asia’s leading financial centers – the Lujiazui Finance and Trade Zone – and will complete the city’s super high-rise precinct. By incorporating sustainable design best practices, Shanghai Tower is at the forefront of a new generation of super high-rise towers.
More important than its shear height, however, is the building’s unparalleled innovation, which is apparent in its twisting, crystalline form; the vertical zones of rich multifunctions; the communal skygardens throughout its height; its unique environmental technologies; and the advanced fabrication and construction processes.
The tower is divided vertically into nine zones, each with 12 to 15 floors. An inner cylindrical tower steps in at each zone. At the interface of the adjacent zones, a two-story, full floor area is created to house mechanical, electrical and plumbing equipment and also serve as that zone’s life safety refuge area. This full-floor platform creates a base for the atrium spaces directly above.
Each of Shanghai Tower’s vertical neighborhoods rises from a sky lobby, a light-filled garden atrium that creates a sense of community and supports daily life with a mixed-use program to cater to tenants and visitors. The sky lobbies function much like traditional town plazas and squares, bringing people together throughout the day.
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Text by Dmitry Skvortsov,
photos provided by Thornton Tomasetti & Gensler