Size doesn't matter', says architect of Shanghai Tower

A colossal 2,073ft skyscraper more than twice the height of London's Shard is on the verge of seizing the title of the Far East's tallest building, with the Shanghai Tower becoming the latest super-sized symbol of China's economic rise. 

Left: An artist's impression of the finished Shanghai Tower
Right: The topping out ceremony

The 15 billion yuan (£1.6 billion) skyscraper's main structure is due to be completed on Saturday with the 121-floor Shanghai Tower now peering down on Taiwan's 1671ft Taipei 101. 

But in an interview with The Daily Telegraph, the skyscraper's Shanghai-born lead designer insisted size did not matter. 

"There will always be another taller building," said Jun Xia, who heads the Shanghai office of San Francisco-based architecture firm Gensler. 

"It's not about the physical height but it's about how high you can reach in terms of creating a meaningful, sustainable and human tall building. 

"If we achieved our goal, time will tell. But I think the building will become a living laboratory for many people to learn about tall buildings and how they can be sustainable."

The Shanghai Tower, left, is the last of three buildings to be erected in the mega-city's Lujiazui financial district, joining the Jin Mao Tower and the Shanghai World Financial Center (AFP/GETTY)

The Shanghai Tower - which will hold its "topping out" ceremony on August 3 and should open for business next year – is the last of three buildings to be erected in the mega-city's Lujiazui financial district, joining the Jin Mao Tower and the Shanghai World Financial Center (WFC).

Two decades ago, the land from which the Shanghai Tower now blazes upwards was "just a rice field", said Mr Jun. 

"You had to take a boat to go over there. There were no bridges at that time," added the 51-year-old architect who was raised by grandmothers and aunts in Shanghai's historic former French Concession after his parents were dispatched to the countryside for "re-education" during Chairman Mao's disastrous and brutal Cultural Revolution. 

Today, following two decades of economic opening to the world, the east side of Shanghai's Huangpu river has been utterly transformed, morphing into a spectacular clutter of glass and steel that has given the city one of the most breathtaking skylines on earth. 

"It's a dream," said Mr Jun. "Some days you look at it and you still don't believe your eyes. It's incredible. It's a miracle." 

It took a fleet of trucks 63 hours of non-stop work to pour the Shanghai Tower's 18 ft foundations, according to the developers, and 1,079 concrete-and-steel bore piles were used to hold its massive structure in place. 

The finished skyscraper, which was designed by a team of around 100 architects, will boast over six million square feet of office and retail space and is expected to receive around 16,000 visitors each day. 

It will also be able to claim the fastest lift in the world – a Japanese Mitsubishi "express elevator" that will glide between floors at around 40mph – and the world's highest observation deck. Mr Jun says the building had also been made "as green as we can and sustainable as we can." "It is cutting edge," he said. 

A transparent glass "second skin" has been wrapped around the skyscraper's 90ft by 90ft "concrete core" in order to insulate the building and reduce energy consumption. 

The building's exterior lighting will be powered by 270 wind-generators. 

The skyscraper would also attempt to create a "livable" "city within a city" where workers and visitors could shop, mingle and even meet their future spouses, Jun said. 

It has been divided into a series of "neighbourhoods" built around tree-lined "sky lobbies" designed to capture the spirit of Shanghai's courtyard communities. 

When it opens next year, the Shanghai Tower will become the world's second tallest building after Dubai's 2,717ft Burj Khalifa. 

But the building was "not just about egos and big tall buildings," said Jun. 

"We could have built it taller if we had wanted to. But there was no need for it." Instead, he hoped the Shanghai Tower would become a lasting monument to a rapidly changing nation, whose economy and politics were transforming in the blink of an eye. 

"It is a symbol of China's future. It is very youthful, it has lots of energy and it is very transparent." "China will become much more transparent," he predicted. "It is a trend." 

source: Telegraph.co.uk