The Shanghai Tower - A Symbol of China's Ascension

The Shanghai Tower Rising 

Standing Tall
A Symbol of China's Ascension

            The new centerpiece of the Lujiazui commercial district, Shanghai Tower is the most forward-looking of the three towers symbolizing Shanghai's past, present and future. Designed by a local team of Gensler architect's to embody the city's rich culture, the 632-meter high (2,073 feet) mixed-use building completes the super-high-rise precinct planned in 1990. Taking inspiration from Shanghai's tradition of small-scale courtyards and neighborhood parks, the tower recasts them in high-density urban form. The spiraling tower symbolizes China's emergence as a global financial power.

Vertical City

New Precedents for Urban Life 

            Shanghai Tower is designed to embrace and stimulate the life of the city. Yet, instead of parks spread horizontally across the city, the tower provides gathering spaces stacked vertically. These are the innovative sky gardens that set the building apart from any high-rise ever built. By amenities at the atrium levels, Shanghai Tower provides a new experience for living and working in super-tall towers. 

Why this Shape?

Unique form cuts material costs

            Gensler's design team anticipated that three key strategies - the tower's asymmetrical form, its tapering profile and its rounded corners - would allow the building to withstand face winds that are common in Shanghai.Using wind tunnel tests conducted in a Canadian Lab, Gensler and structural engineer Thornton Tomasetti refined the tower's form, which reduced building wind loads by 24 percent. The result is a lighter structure that saved $58 million in costly materials.

The Outer Skin

A triumph of High-Tech tools

            Constructing a complex building shape that had never before been conceived required the most innovative tools. Designed with 20,000+ curtain wall panels - including more than 7,000 unique shapes - the facade would have been challenging to envision usig traditional computer-aided design tools. With parametric software, however, Gensler was able to create a system that balances performance, constructability, maintenance and design. Precise tolerances were achieved by placing lasers on the site to take measurements.

Innovation

Design advances building science

            Winner of an international competition, the tower highlights technologies that raise the bar for the next generation of super-high-rise buildings. Shanghai Tower's structural design overcomes many challenges: a windy climate, an active earthquake zone and clay-based soils. The tower rises like a tree, with a strong central "trunk" (a concrete core and steel super-columns) and "branches" that support refuge and mechanical floors at the base of each zone, marking the division of the building into nine sections. This made for a speedier, less costly construction process.

Going Green

A Showcase for Sustainability

            Shanghai Tower is one of the most advanced sustainable tall buildings in the world, showcasing green technologies as part of its public awareness program. A central aspect of the design is the transparent second skin that insulates the building, reducing energy use for heating and cooling. Gensler's design leverages state-of-the-art water conservation practices, high-efficiency building systems and its own power generating system for the parts of the tower.

Building Facts

• Tallest Building in China:   Shanghai Tower is the tallest building in China and 2nd tallest in the World.
• 120-Degree Turn:   From base to top, the tower makes a rotation that is optimal for minimizing wind loads. This geometry saved $58 million in costly structural materials.
• 43 Sustainable Technologies:   The design adopts strategies that reduce energy consumption by 21 percent.
• Innovative Skin:   The circular inner glass facade required 14 percent less glass than a square building of the same total floor area.
• 6-meter-deep (18-foot) Mat Foundation:   Trucks pumped 61,000 cubic meters of concrete during a continuous 63 hour pour in March 2010.
• Power Generation:   A 2,130 kW natural gas-fired co-generation system on the site will provide electricity and heat energy for the low zone areas.

By the Numbers

• Site location/area:  

Lujizui Finance and Trade Zone, Pudong district, Shanghai, China.  

30,370 square meters (7.5 acres).

• Tower:   

Height: 632 meters (2,073 ft)   

Stories: 127 floors   

Area: 410,000 square meters above grade (4,413,203 sf)   164,000 square meters below grade (1,765,281 sf)  

Program: Office, Luxury hotel, Entertainment, Retail, and Cultural venues.

• Podium:   

Height: 36.9 meters (121 ft)   

Stories: 5 stories above grade   

Area: 46,000 square meters (495,000 sf)   

Program: Retail, Banking, Restaurant, Conference, Meeting and Banquet facilities.  

Below grade levels will house retail, 1,950 parking spaces, services and MEP functions. 

Shanghai Now    

Charting the Future of Cities

            Shanghai Tower's importance extends far beyond its role as an icon for a global financial capital. It's location in China, the leader in construction of tall buildings, puts Shanghai Tower at the center of discussions about the future of cities. By housing a mix of uses, practicing resource conservation, meshing with regional mass transit and providing human-scaled spaces that add delight to daily experiences, the tower presents new ideas for how tall buildings can be sustainable and people-centered.

Project Credits

Owner & Developer:        Shanghai Tower Construction & Development Co., Ltd.

Contractor:                         Shanghai Construction Group.

Design Architect:              Gensler

Local Design Institute:   Tonji Architectural Design Group.

Structural Engineer:       Thornton Tomasetti

MEP Engineer:                   Cosentini Associates

Landscape Architect:       SWA