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CONSTRUCTION WORLD
MARCH
2016
Seven years after construction began,
Shanghai Tower has officially been
completed, becoming China’s tallest
skyscraper and the focal point of Shanghai’s
skyline. To commemorate this milestone,
Shanghai Tower has been added to the official
CTBUH ‘Current Tallest 20’ list, which presents
the world’s tallest 20 buildings as recognised
by the CTBUH’s Height Criteria. In addition, the
tower has also achieved impressive sustain-
ability credentials.
At 632 m high, Shanghai Tower is the world’s
second tallest building, after the Burj Khalifa in
Dubai. It is also the world’s tallest double-skin
building, with its distinctive helix-like façade.
Global engineering consulting firm Aurecon
provided façade engineering design for the
striking building, working with US architectural
firm Gensler to marry the complex façade with
the structure and services systems. In addition
to its work on the façade, Aurecon also collab-
orated with New York engineering consultancy,
Cosentini Associates, to provide mechan-
ical, electrical and plumbing design services,
including materials selection and schematic and
development design.
The tower’s unique design comprises a circular
central floor plate enveloped by a suspended
outer skin, triangular in plan, twisting as it
ascends. This feature was not only included
for aesthetics, it also contributes to Shanghai
Tower’s functionality and sustainability, greatly
reducing wind load and enabling the easy
capture of rainwater to be used in the building’s
air conditioning and central heating system.
Designed as an eco-building, the Shanghai
Tower’s sustainable features took the US Green
Building Council and the Chinese 3-Star Green
Building rating and certification systems into
account. The tower’s sustainability features
include greywater recycling systems located
at basement and mid-level to collect water for
reuse; 15 three kW vertical axis wind turbines
located on the roof to provide 157 500 kWh
of renewable electricity each year; two sets of
natural gas turbines which generate electricity,
chilled water and hot water, while reducing
carbon dioxide by 49%; as well as a 12-storey ‘sky
garden’ created by the interstitial spaces in the
form which act as environmental buffer zones
and maximise the usage of the double skins.
“Shanghai Tower is a landmark achievement
CHINA’S TALLEST BUILDING
Aurecon provided façade engineering design for the striking
Shanghai Tower, which is now on the official Council on Tall
Buildings and Urban Habitat’s (CTBUH) ‘Current Tallest 20’ list.
>
— both in terms of size and sustainability — and
we are incredibly proud to have been a part of
its construction,” says Margaret Cao, country
manager for Aurecon in China. “It’s exciting to
finally see such a long, complex project come
to fruition so that the people of Shanghai can
begin to enjoy this building.”
The landmark building will include offices,
commercial space, a five-star hotel, exhibi-
tion and conference halls as well as recrea-
tional facilities.