New TALLEST building in China

Gorgeous, isn't it.   Very elegant and shapely.  Shanghai Tower, eponymously named, just topped out a few days ago in China and now is the tallest building in Asia.

At 2,073ft (632 metre) structure, Shanghai Tower stands in the city’s Lujiazui Finance and Trade Zone, beside the Jin Mao Tower and Shanghai World Financial Center.   It is the tallest building in Asia and the second-tallest building in the world, after 2,716.5ft-tall Burj Khalifa.

Perhaps even more impressive than the structure’s height will be its form. The semi-transparent building twists as it rises – its spiralling form is meant to reduce wind load by 24 per cent during typhoons. Designers claim the curve is also meant to “symbolise the dynamic emergence of modern China.”

An undulating, curving tower, this will become the tallest of many planned curved or spiraling skyscrapers in the works around the world (see previous blog entries:  http://markgsmusings.blogspot.com/2009/12/i-want-to-live-in-this-cool-building.html and http://markgsmusings.blogspot.com/2009/08/those-dubai-dudes-are-really-amazing.html).

Shanghai Tower is the creation of US-based architectural firm Gensler, whose other developments include Houston’s Hess Tower and Farmers Field in Los Angeles. The 121-story building will include offices, numerous entertainment venues, retail units, a conference centre, cultural attractions and a luxury hotel.

The building will be joined by a number of other Chinese record breakers in time. The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat last year found that nine of the 20 tallest buildings currently under construction worldwide were being built in China. Last month it was announced that construction of what would be the world’s tallest building (see earlier blog:  http://markgsmusings.blogspot.com/2013/07/chinas-proposed-new-tallest-building-in.html) had begun in Changsha in China’s Hunan province.

Construction on the building was begun in 2008.   That means that the construction of the future tallest building in the world that I discussed a couple of days ago (click here: http://markgsmusings.blogspot.com/2013/07/chinas-proposed-new-tallest-building-in.html) is all the more remarkable, because, assuming it is built, as proposed, would be completed in just months.   This really interesting photo study of the construction process is fascinating.    Particularly the photo which shows the framework built to create the exterior shape.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/ultratravel/the-next-big-thing/10231608/Shanghais-new-landmark-Chinas-tallest-building.html

Horizontal Skyscraper

Designed by Steven Holl, the massive 1,296,459-square-foot Horizontal Skyscraper in Shenzhen, China floats above the surface using just eight legs. To give you an idea of how impressive this is: The building's as long as the Empire State Building is tall.



http://gizmodo.com/5627328/the-horizontal-skyscraper-is-as-long-as-the-empire-state-is-tall

GORGEOUS new building in China--what a wonderful structure

No, this is not a new dirigible! It's a new building. There's some really interesting architecture coming out China these days, particularly in preparation for the Olympics. This is a gorgeous structure, no?

Jason Lee / Reuters

People's Theater

The National Grand Theater in central Beijing, is lit by colored lights in readiness for the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China in October. (TIME Today in Pictures Thursday, September 17, 2009)

Those Dubai dudes are really amazing--check out this BEAUTIFUL and TALL planned building

Not only do they have now the tallest building in the world (see my previous blogs about Burj Dubai here) and one of the most ambitiously growing skylines, but they're planning this amazing architectural landmark.

This building will truly advance architecture into a new realm. The planned 80-story building will have independent units on each floor that will constantly rotate. Each floor will rotate at varying speeds creating a constantly changing "dynamic" structure. Isn't this the coolest most beautiful concept.





What is even more revolutionary about this building is the way it will be constructed. Each unit will be constructed at a pre-fab factory which will reduce the amount of people needed to build this massive structure. Each unit will then be hoisted up to its proper floor, starting at the top and working down. So essentially it be a core tube in the center with detached individual units.

You'll be able to drive your car into the elevator, ride up to your home, park your car at your front door (let's say you have the penthouse on the 80th floor).

The Dynamic Tower will be the first 100% self-powered Green building with the ability to generate electricity for itself through the use of horizontal wind turbines and solar panels.

The architecture firm, Dynamic Architecture, talks about what living will be like in this constantly changing "sculpture":

"Luxury penthouse villas, at over 1,000 square meters (11,000 square feet), are completely custom-made to fulfill individual buyer's personal needs and wants and include all selected finishes from floor to ceiling, including bathrooms, kitchens, lighting and even furniture. The luxury Italian marble bathrooms are pre-assembled at the Leonardo da Vinci factory in Italy, part of the Dynamic Group, and include a sauna, Turkish bath, and are further enhanced by the pleasures of color and sound therapy.

Equipped with the latest in Smart Home technologies for seamless living, all Dynamic Villa residents have voice- and touch-activated control of their Villa's rotation speed and direction, plus control of entry, security, surveillance, climate, lighting, multi-media home entertainment, and even the temperature of their indoor swimming pool.

Villa residents are also able to drive immediately into a special elevator that safely transports their car to their floor to park directly at the entrance to their Villas, providing the luxury of convenience coupled with the necessity of security.

Presenting every resident with the brilliance of constantly changing views, effortless living powered by sophisticated electronic devices, and the extravagance of high-quality design details each Dynamic Tower throughout the world will be unique, becoming an iconic structure wherever it's built. Collectively, the Dynamic Towers will represent an era of a new architecture that will change the look of our cities and herald a new era of Dynamic Living. "

Another similar building, although not as tall :(, is planned for Moscow.

You can see more at http://www.dynamicarchitecture.net/home.html

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Cool photo--BURJ DUBAI--world's tallest building

Here's a cool photo of the Burj Dubai, the tallest building in the world. See my previous posting on this at: http://markgsmusings.blogspot.com/2009/06/hello-gorgeous-burj-dubai-tallest.html.

I love tall buildings....the taller the better:)
This photo really gives you a sense of the height of this beautiful building

Click on the photo to enlarge to really see how dizzyingly high this gorgeous structure is.

This is my kind of tall! Is it not exquisite? Is there hope for our species?

Hello GORGEOUS--Burj Dubai-Tallest Building in the World

BURJ DUBAI in United Arab Emirates is the tallest building in the world.

I've always been obsessed with tall buildings :) The taller the structure the greater my obsession :) This building defied my wildest dreams ever. The Burj Dubai now holds the following world records:

* Tallest structure: 818 m (2,684 ft) (previously KVLY-TV mast - 628.8 m (2,063 ft))
*Tallest freestanding structure: 818 m (2,684 ft) (previously CN Tower - 553.3 m (1,815 ft)
* Building with most floors: 160 (previously Sears Tower / World Trade Center - 110)
* Highest vertical concrete pumping (for a building): 601 m (1,972 ft) (previously Taipei 101 - 449.2 m (1,474 ft)
* Highest vertical concrete pumping (for any construction): 601 m (1,972 ft)[19] (previously Riva del Garda Hydroelectric Power Plant - 532 m (1,745 ft)[20])
* First world's tallest structure in history that includes residential space.

At 160 floors the building finally topped out on January 2009 at 2,864 feet. And it is a beautiful structure. This is a remarkable advance for mankind. Now if we can achieve commercial supersonic aviation again (alas the SST) I'll really feel as though we are advancing as a species!
The building is still under construction and is expected to open September 2009.

The Burj Dubai website wasn't very informative. I finally had to go to the entry on wikipedia to found out how many floors it has (this is a more important fact for me than the actual height...go figure?). The wikipedia article is much more interesting. The world records listed above are from the wikipedia article. Read more at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burj_Dubai

They can't build high enough or fast enough in my opinion....but this one was a giant leap for mankind :) And so gorgeous, too.