Civil Engineering Association

The Shanghai Tower is one of the most ambitious skyscraper projects ever undertaken on the planet, let alone in China. While the distant silhouette and the proximate detail of the tower will be immediately distinctive, the purpose of the building is not simply to be seen as an iconic landmark; it is much more than that. Because it incorporates many advanced techniques, it will be a learning laboratory for the next generation of skyscraper designers. Shanghai Tower provides a vision of vertically-integrated space through a double façade that contains numerous sky gardens, filled with vegetation and the potential for socializing. It provides relief from the isolative nature of tall buildings without requiring descent to the ground.

Note: This publication was produced in conjunction with the CTBUH 2014 Shanghai Conference, which took place at the Grand Hyatt Jin Mao Shanghai from 16–19 September, 2014, as an additional supplement to the Main Proceedings book alongside two other "In Detail" publications, Ping An Finance Center and Suzhou Zhongnan Center.

The Shenzhen Ping An Finance Center (PAFC) is a transit-integrated, 660-meter-tall building that will occupy a major node in the increasingly connected megacity of Hong Kong/Shenzhen/Guangzhou: home to 120 million people and one-third of China’s trade value. PAFC’s design symbolizes its owner’s image and title – “Ping An” is the combination of the Chinese characters for “peaceful” and “safety,” while evoking the entrepreneurial spirit of Shenzhen. Its stretched, needle-like shape is streamlined and notched with continuously tapering corners, for aerodynamic performance, visual effect, and space efficiency.

Note: This publication was produced in conjunction with the CTBUH 2014 Shanghai Conference, which took place at the Grand Hyatt Jin Mao Shanghai from 16–19 September, 2014, as an additional supplement to the Main Proceedings book alongside two other "In Detail" publications, Shanghai Tower and Suzhou Zhongnan Center.











The Suzhou Zhongnan Center will be a 729-meter-tall building, containing 375,000 square meters of gross floor area across 137 floors, containing retail, restaurants, entertainment functions, offices, luxury apartments, a seven-star hotel, and an observatory. Its extreme height, difficult soil conditions, and widely varied program make it a building of virtually unprecedented scale and scope, even within China. This requires an advanced level of thinking beyond typical tall building planning, design and construction.

Note: This publication was produced in conjunction with the CTBUH 2014 Shanghai Conference, which took place at the Grand Hyatt Jin Mao Shanghai from 16–19 September, 2014, as an additional supplement to the Main Proceedings book alongside two other "In Detail" publications, Ping An Finance Center and Shanghai Tower.