Shanghai World Financial Center

The Shanghai World Financial Center is a skyscraper that towers over the Pudong district of Shanghai, China. It was designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox and constructed of steel and reinforced concrete. The tower, which contains a hotel and office space, is known for its distinctive shape, with a portal cutout near the top providing a walkway for taking in the view. Into the mid-2020s, it was among the tallest skyscrapers in Shanghai. The design takes its shape from a square prism intersected by arcs. These shapes are ancient Chinese symbols, with the arcs meant to represent the heavens while the prism symbolizes the earth. The portal in the upper floors serves the practical purpose of relieving pressure from the wind on the structure. The cutout and overall shape of the building have given it the nickname the “Bottle Opener.”

Background

Shanghai is an important financial center in China. It is one of the five coastal cities Western powers forced China to open to trade following the Opium War of 1840. Shanghai grew quickly from its origins as a fishing community with a focus on the textiles industry. Early in the twentieth century, Chinese leaders viewed Shanghai, and in particular the relatively undeveloped Pudong section east of the Huangpu River, as having great potential. The subsequent construction of a harbor contributed to Shanghai’s reputation as a major international trade and finance center. However, the city’s fortunes changed with World War II (1939–1945), China’s civil war, and other setbacks. China’s leaders again looked to Shanghai during the 1990s as the focus of future development and began to build large skyscrapers in the city. Shanghai and Hong Kong were frequently run neck-and-neck as the economic center of China.

The foundations for the original 1993 design of the Shanghai World Financial Center were completed by 1995. However, the project was halted as Asia lurched through a financial crisis that lasted several years, and demand for new office space nearly disappeared. Construction resumed in 1997 with significant changes to the design. The height and base dimensions were both larger. To construct the building on the existing foundation, the structure had to be made lighter. At the same time, it would be subject to higher wind pressure due to the height increase. The structural engineer used composite mega-columns, diagonal mega-braces, steel outriggers, belt trusses, and core wall trusses. The loads borne by the piles, or cylinders deep in the ground that support the structure, were redistributed to accommodate greater lateral loads from the wind and potential earthquakes. These and other changes reduced the weight of the tower by 10 percent, lowering cost and construction time. The building was also made more environmentally friendly by reducing the amount of material needed to build it.

While the original design included a round portal, this was met with local opposition. Many people thought it looked like Japanese symbolism, specifically the rising sun on the Japanese flag. Critics were upset about events from the 1930s and 1940s when Japan conquered large swaths of China. The architects said the round portal was meant to invoke the moon gate, a circular entrance to traditional Chinese gardens. This conflict led to some discussions with the developer, the Mori Building Co. of Tokyo. Eventually, the redesign’s trapezoid portal met with approval, and the work continued. The tower was completed in 2008.

Overview

Many of the building techniques were employed to ensure safety from the pressure of high winds and the potential danger of earthquakes. The external mega-structure consists of external structural columns, major diagonals, and belt trusses. Outrigger trusses connect the external mega-structure to the core wall in the center.

The base’s foundation wall is lattice-shaped. It consists of an external wall and a core wall. Pressure-resistant plates are more than 6 feet (2 meters) thick. The steel support piles number about 2,200 and are embedded up to 255 feet (78 meters) into the ground. Two 150-ton counterweights on the ninetieth floor serve as mass dampers to alleviate swaying.

A primary safety feature of the Shanghai World Financial Center is the seventh floor. Known as the evacuation floor, it is fire-proof and could be used as an emergency shelter in case of disaster. Smoke is prevented from entering the seventh floor by a system pressurized by external air.

Developers of the project were determined to build the world’s largest skyscraper, surpassing the 1,483-foot (452-meter) Petronas Twin Towers in Malaysia. For a brief period of time, they succeeded, though the race to build taller skyscrapers was far less competitive in the years following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York City. Developers in most countries shied away from building taller structures, but in China, security concerns were less evident. As of 2019, the Shanghai World Financial Center was the twelfth-tallest skyscraper in the world. The nearby Shanghai Tower, completed in 2015, is taller at 2,073 feet (632 meters) and has 128 floors.

The Shanghai World Financial Center is about 1,614 feet (492 meters) tall. Three floors are underground, while 101 are above ground. The tower contains sixty-two floors of offices, conference facilities, and urban retail and dining spaces. The Park Hyatt Hotel occupies floors seventy-nine through ninety-three and has its own elevators from the ground. A visitors’ square and observatory take up the ninety-fourth through the one-hundredth floors.

Observation decks are located on the ninety-fourth, ninety-seventh, and one-hundredth floors. The one-hundredth floor is a 60-yard (55-meter) corridor of transparent glass. The ninety-seventh floor has a skylight ceiling that is opened in good weather. The observation area of the ninety-fourth floor is an 897-square-yard (750-square-meter) sightseeing hall that provides a view of the Huangpu River and hosts exhibitions. The floor also includes a café bar and souvenir store; the latter sells bottle openers in the shape of the skyscraper.

In addition to hotel and office space, the wide base levels contain a multitude of shops and restaurants. From the below-ground floors to the third floor, visitors find dozens of cafés and restaurants. Shops include a cooking studio, hair salons, health businesses, and fashion shops.

Bibliography

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