Shanghai World Financial Center Shanghai. Superstructures: Shanghai World Financial Center

Remember, yesterday we started looking at these skyscrapers, and the one in the middle - well, we also mentioned a little about what will be on the left (where the hole is in the photo). Let's talk in detail about what's on the right, well, the one with the hole :-)

For some reason it always reminds me of a needle.

In general, Shanghai takes the lead in the number of skyscrapers - there are at least 2 buildings with a height of more than 400 meters, and there are also plans to build an even more enormous tower with 129 floors, which will rush into the sky next to the already famous "corn" - the Jin Mao Tower and the "fashionable futuristic bottle opener" - Shanghai World Trade Center.

Shanghai World Financial Center - SWFC (Shanghai World Financial Centre)- a giant skyscraper built in the prestigious Lujiazui district of Shanghai, which is called the “Chinese Wall Street”. This is a multifunctional building, it houses offices, hotels, conference rooms, restaurants, shopping centers, and on the upper floors there are observation decks that provide an opportunity to take a look at the surroundings of the metropolis. One of the most famous “tenants” of the Financial Center is the Park Hyatt Shanghai hotel, which includes 174 rooms and suites.

Here's the construction process...

The Shanghai World Financial Center embodies the continuity of traditional Chinese architecture and new design solutions. This is evidenced by the very shape of the building - a giant rectangular prism intersected by two large arcs. The hexagonal skyscraper gradually narrows towards the top, turning into one line. Thus, the unity of opposites - yin and yang - is emphasized, and the dialogue between two elements - heaven and earth - is revealed.The huge “diaphragm” in the form of a trapezoid in the upper levels of the structure is also symbolic.

The Void is a stylized "moon gate" that can be seen quite often in traditional Chinese architecture. The interconnection between the past and the future, national values and innovations is also evidenced by the interior decoration of the hotel. The chic rooms are decorated in the style typical of traditional Chinese houses.

The delay in the construction of SWFC was associated with the financial crisis that gripped Asian countries in the late 90s of the 20th century. Active work on the site was resumed only in 2003, after a 5-year break. It was at that time that the Mori Corporation, which acted as the developer and customer of the skyscraper, wanted to increase the height of the building from 460 meters to 492, adding an additional 7 floors (from 94 to 101) in order to surpass the Malaysian “twins” Petronas Towers. However, engineers were unable to offer a decent solution for conquering the half-kilometer mark. The limitation was the ready-made foundation, which was originally designed for a building with a height of no more than 460 m. As a result, the Shanghai World Trade Center unexpectedly became not the first, but the second high-rise building in the world, behind Taiwan's Taipei 101.

However, SWFC had a chance for championship, since it was possible to install a decorative spire. But the architect William Pedersen (as well as the head of the Mori company himself) opposed such deformation of the building. It was stated that the Shanghai World Financial Center is already a very impressive structure that does not need additional decorations.

The appearance and internal structure of the Shanghai World Financial Center underwent changes several times during construction. The first significant improvements concerned increased security. The measures were taken after the sad events of September 11, 2001. For example, 12 fireproof shelters were introduced and 2 additional external elevators were provided for quick evacuation. In addition, the structure of the building was modified in such a way that the building, if necessary, could withstand an air attack. The Shanghai World Financial Center also installed 2 built-in external shock absorbers, which are located just below the observation deck. Shock absorbers dampen vibrations during strong gusts of wind and ground vibrations during earthquakes. The through void at the upper levels of the building is designed to reduce the impact of hurricane winds on the walls of the building.

The main building materials used to construct the Mori building were reinforced concrete, steel and glass. During construction, it was possible to minimize steel costs, reducing the weight of the building, but without compromising seismic resistance.

Another change was made to the design of SWFS. Initially, a round decorative hole was planned at the top of the tower, but at the request of the government it was replaced with a trapezoidal hole with a diameter of 46 meters. Because the round “window” was very similar to the symbol of Japan - the rising sun, which greatly irritated the Chinese. In any case, the design of the skyscraper turned out to be very memorable. The building, which looks like a huge bottle opener, has truly become one of the architectural highlights of Shanghai. In 2008, the Council on Tall Buildings in the Urban Environment recognized the Shanghai World Financial Center as the best skyscraper of the year.

The actual construction work was completed on September 14, 2007, when the height of the building exceeded 1612.2 feet (492 m), but another year was spent on finishing and installation of communications. Spectators who wish to climb to the top using high-speed elevators can view the surrounding city from a height of 474 meters - this is where the closed observation deck is located, equipped with the latest technology, in compliance with all safety standards. This observatory became the highest observation deck in the world.

During the construction of the tower, the experience of September 11 was taken into account, when people on the floors above the floor on which the fire occurred could not go down.

In this regard, three options were used to rescue people: along protected stairs in the middle of the building, descent using elevators located on the sides of the building, as well as protected floors

It is known that the American investment bank Morgan Stanley coordinated the financing of the Mori Building. Japanese tycoon Minoru Mori took a very active part in the fate of the skyscraper, which is why the skyscraper unofficially bears his name. According to experts, investments in the project amounted to at least $1 billion, with 10% of the property already transferred to the American bank Morgan Stanley. The architecture of the Shanghai World Trade Center is impressive - the structure really has something in common with a giant bottle opener, especially the trapezoidal hole at the top of the skyscraper, which is associated with the ring holder on a corkscrew. One must think that the architect who planned this structure dreamed of conveying a different meaning to the average person. Originally, the void at the top end of the building was supposed to have a circumferential shape. Serious controversy has flared up around this designer item.

Advocates of Chinese culture believed that the “ring” was a tribute to traditional Eastern mythology, the people’s associative idea of the relationship between heaven and earth. Someone believed that the round void at the top resembles a “moon gate” - one of the symbols often used in Chinese architecture. Others saw a striking resemblance in the circle to the “rising sun” depicted on the Japanese flag. By the way, this circumstance caused many protests among the public, and, in particular, from the mayor of Shanghai. The heat of passion led to the fact that Kohn Pederson Fox decided to modify the shape of the hole, making it trapezoidal.

In addition, such a structure was easier and cheaper to build. So, the size of the void is 46 (!) meters in diameter. It turns out that such a design has a purely functional explanation - this “diaphragm” was invented to reduce the impact of winds on the building. At such a height, the speed of air movement is very high and exerts significant pressure on the walls; such a “hole” was very useful for resisting the force of the wind. As mentioned above, Zadnie Mori is the owner of the highest observation deck in the world. However, the building has as many as 3 observatories!

Interestingly, it was previously planned to install a spire on the roof of the skyscraper, which would add a few more meters to the building.

The investors' ambitions were to acquire the most powerful high-rise building, surpassing the famous Taiwanese Taipei 101 (509.2 m). However, Architect William Pederson and developer Minoru Mori opposed adding a spire, explaining that the existing size was sufficient for such a majestic building as the Shanghai World Financial Center. The creators of the project did not fail to note that the parameters of SWFC will impress anyone: the building area is 377,300 square meters, inside the skyscraper there are 31 high-speed elevators and 33 escalators! Also, the Shanghai World Financial Center has 3 underground floors.

The construction of SWFC took more than 10 years. From the laying of the first stone (August 27, 1997) to the opening of the building on August 30, 2008, 11 long years passed. The construction process itself took only 4 years, because... active financing of the project began only in 2003, when investors, having coped with the consequences of the crisis of the late 90s, resumed investments in the facility. The intensification of construction was greatly facilitated by the fact that China joined the WTO in 2001; in connection with this, the real estate market “revived” and was filled with foreign investments. The developer company Mori Group, before starting the project, decided to increase the building by 32 meters, since the original height of the “opener” was supposed to be 460 m (94 floors). As a result, full-scale construction began only on November 16, 2003. The construction of the building was carried out by Shanghai Construction Group.

The uniqueness of Park Hyatt is that it has become the highest hotel in the world, before which the first place belonged to the Grand Hyatt Shanghai, occupying floors 53-87 in the neighboring skyscraper - Jin Mao Tower. The Mori Building (synonymous with SFWC) houses a large conference center, abbreviated as the Forum, on the 3rd-5th floors. The large hall of the Center is ready to accommodate up to 1000 people at a time, who will be accommodated with excellent comfort in a room decorated in a theatrical style. By design, the Shanghai World Financial Center is largely an office building - company offices occupy 70 floors. About 12 thousand employees come to work in the Mori Building every day. In addition, the high-rise can be visited by several thousand tourists and vacationers, as well as guests of the Park Hyatt Shanghai hotel. SFWC was officially opened in 2008 with a pompous ceremony on August 30 of that year.

The Shanghai World Financial Center is home to:

Car parking on three underground levels;
.from the 1st to the 5th floor there are conference rooms, shops, restaurants;
.from 7 to 77 company offices (over 300 rooms);
.from 79 to 93 Park Hyatt Shanghai hotel with 174 rooms;
.86 floor - conference hall and 8 banquet halls;
.87 floor is occupied by a food court;
.91-93 - floors are reserved for a huge restaurant 100 Century Avenue;
.from 94 to 100 floors - observation decks and exhibition areas.
As already mentioned above, the total height of the building is 492 meters, and the last floor is located at a level of 474 meters, the last observation deck is organized at an altitude of 472 m above the ground.

At the heights of the 94th, 97th and 100th floors there are observation platforms, visits to which are available to everyone for a small fee. The closed observatory "Bridge" is located directly on the passages that cross the trapezoidal opening.

As a result, the Mori Building received its first visitors on August 30, 2008. It is noteworthy that the expressive design of the “opener” did not leave the world’s best architects indifferent, and at the end of 2008, the Shanghai World Trade Center building was recognized as the best skyscraper in the world. Shanghai is now a city of skyscrapers. It is planned to complete the construction of 24 buildings with a height of 243 meters by 2008; it is interesting that in 2005 only 8 high-rise buildings were put into operation.

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Even now, Shanghai can safely be called Eastern New York - perhaps in a couple of decades there will be no “short” buildings left on the city’s territory, buildings shorter than 50 meters - kilometer- and half-kilometer-tall giants will rise around - stone and glass jungles will soar up to the Heavens.

The architecture of Shanghai has many faces. Although today it is difficult to find old streets, slums and poor neighborhoods in the city - they have been demolished. In place of rice fields and peasant huts there are skyscrapers. Shanghai can be called East New York - there are so many high-rise buildings around. However, despite the presence of modern buildings, this city remains true to its traditions - they honor the philosophy of the East and show patriotism even in architecture.

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Here's a toilet on top of the world :-)

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Don’t forget to take a virtual walk to the skyscrapers we inspect. Click on the picture below.

Are you back? And now one more thing...

Do you see another skyscraper being built on the left side? So in 2014 it will be the same as in the bottom picture. Cool?

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Here's another video...

Some of the photos belong to the blogger

Shanghai World Financial Center (Chinese: 上海环球金融中心; English: Shanghai World Financial Center) is a skyscraper in Shanghai, the construction of which was completed in the summer of 2008. The height of the center is 492 m, making it the fourth tallest skyscraper in the world after the Burj. Khalifa, Royal Tower and Taipei 101. The tower was built by the Japanese company Mori Building Corporation. The main designer of the project is David Malott from the New York company Kohn Pedersen Fox. The unofficial name of the building is "opener".

The construction of the building was actively supported by the Japanese tycoon Minoru Mori, so the skyscraper unofficially bears his name. The first stone was laid on August 27, 1997, but due to the financial crisis of 1998, construction dragged on for ten years. The construction process itself took four years, because... active financing began in 2003, another year was required for interior decoration and installation of communications.

In 2003, changes were made to the project, in particular, the development company Mori Group increased the height of the building to 492 m and the number of floors to 101, from the original 460 and 94, respectively.

Also in 2005, the window at the top of the building was reshaped to reduce air resistance. Initially, a round window 46 m in diameter was planned. However, this design caused great protests from the Chinese, including the mayor of Shanghai, who believed that it was very similar to the rising sun on the Japanese flag. The round hole was replaced with a trapezoidal one, which reduced the cost of the design and simplified the implementation of the project.

Investors wanted to increase the height of the building by installing a spire on it to break the height record of Taipei 101 (509.2 m), but architect William Pedersen and developer Minoru Mori opposed adding a spire to the building, explaining that for such a majestic building as the SWFC, the existing size was sufficient .

The building area is 377,300 m², there are 31 high-speed elevators and 33 escalators.

Building Features
The building has passed all earthquake resistance tests and can withstand an earthquake of up to magnitude seven.

A protected floor is located on every twelfth floor of the building. It is designed to shelter people from a fire until rescuers arrive. Each floor has its own reinforced concrete frame, which divides the entire building into sections and increases its strength properties. These floors are reinforced with fireproof steel, and there are also glass windows on these floors that can be broken to allow air into the room.

3 underground levels in the skyscraper are occupied by car parking.
1-5 floors - conference rooms, shops, restaurants.
Floors 7-77 - offices of various companies, for example Tomson Group Ltd. bought the 72nd floor, with the exception of the 29th floor, on which the Shanghai World Financial Culture & Media Center is located. In total, about 12 thousand employees work in the building's offices.
Floors 79-85 - the Park Hyatt Shanghai hotel with 174 rooms is located.
86th floor – there is a conference hall and 8 banquet halls.
87-93 floors - restaurants.
Floors 94-100 – observation decks and exhibition areas. The highest observation deck of the skyscraper, equipped in compliance with all safety standards, is located at an altitude of 474 meters.

Records set by the building
owner of the highest observation deck in the world, located on the 100th floor of the building (472 meters above the ground);
best skyscraper in the world 2008.

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Shanghai World Financial Center (China) - description, history, location. Exact address, phone number, website. Tourist reviews, photos and videos.

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The Shanghai World Financial Center, built in 2008, is a building that is visible and recognizable from almost any part of the city. Moreover, the reason is not only its height of 492 m, but also its very unusual shape, thanks to which the skyscraper began to be called an “opener”. Today, thousands of Shanghai guests are eager to see this masterpiece of architecture and engineering. By the way, the building ranks 6th in the top ten tallest buildings in the world.

The unique “cap” of the skyscraper serves to reduce its windage. A similar technique was used in the construction of the Kingdom Center tower in Riyadh, and it is also called the “opener”.

Initially, the tower was planned to be 460 meters high, but subsequently the plan was finalized, increasing its height and number of floors from 94 to 101. The creators also wanted to make a round window at the top of the skyscraper, symbolizing the Gate of the Moon - a traditional element of Chinese architecture, but later due to the similarity with with the rising sun (the symbol of Japan), they decided to make the window in the shape of a trapezoid. This is how the skyscraper acquired its present appearance.

What's interestnig

The Chinese failed to make the tallest building on the planet, but they set another record - on the 100th floor of the building, 472 m above the ground, there is the highest (and most expensive in terms of cost of visit) observation deck. You can get there by high-speed elevator in just one minute. The other two sites are located on the 94th and 97th floors.

On floors 87 to 93 there are restaurants, some of which boast wonderful Shanghai panoramas. These are some of the most expensive establishments in the city - politicians, businessmen and show business stars meet here. Floors 70 to 93 are occupied by the Park Hyatt Shanghai hotel with 174 rooms, which are recommended to be booked a month in advance.

The middle floors are given over to the offices of various organizations, and the lower ones, which are at the same time the most visited by locals and visitors, serve as a huge shopping complex. There is everything here: an incredible number of shops and fashion boutiques, souvenir shops and electronics stores, cafes and restaurants, slot machines, recreation rooms and entertainment rooms for children.

If you want to continue your walk through the architectural giants of the Celestial Empire, you can go to the Jin Mao Tower, which is right next door. And for those who want to have fun, Nanjing Street, located a 10-minute walk from the skyscraper, will provide its bright lights.

Practical information

Address: Shanghai, Pudong District, Century Avenue, 88.

You can get there by Subway Line No. 2 (Lujiazui stop) or buses No. 583, 799 and 939 (Garden Stone Bridge Road stop) and No. 791, 870, 939 and 985 (Lujiazui Ring Road stop).

Ticket price for observation decks: 184 CNY. Prices on the page are as of September 2018.

Restaurants in the ShVFC tower occupy the 87th to 93rd floors. Some boast panoramic views and some do not. Before you decide to eat here, you should consider your financial capabilities. A glass of juice costs 50 yuan here, and a full dinner will cost 1000 yuan per person.

This is the most popular place for business lunches and dinners in Shanghai. If the Chinese need to show their serious intentions in business, then they take guests to the “opener”.

Let's tell you our case from life. Several years ago we were not yet involved in tourism, but worked in the field of selling cables for computer networks. During a business trip to China, our partners, sales managers from a Chinese cable factory, decided to feed us dinner, naturally at the company’s expense.

Our friend pointed to the roof of the ShMFC skyscraper and said: “We will have dinner there in the evening.” He had such a satisfied face, as if the Miss Universe contestants had just come up to meet him, all at once.

Then we spent three hours on an excursion to, and while exploring this attraction our colleague constantly called. As a result, it turned out that not a single restaurant at the top of the skyscraper had free tables for the evening! But there are several dozen restaurants there, they occupy 6 floors.

If you want to dine there, make a reservation a week in advance. Although maybe the situation has improved now. The most famous bar upstairs is located on the 91st floor and is called “100 Century Avenue”.

The Park Hyatt Shanghai hotel is located on the 70th to 93rd floors of the tower. It is small - only 174 rooms, compared to the nearby Jin Mao Tower, the Hyatt Hotel has 555 rooms.

What is interesting to tourists - a shopping and entertainment center on the first floors

Perhaps the most visited floors by tourists are the first ones. There are shops and more than a dozen restaurants with very reasonable prices. We recommend taking a look here. Prices in local retail outlets are comparable to prices in , but there is not the crowd that constantly happens on shopping streets in Shanghai.

Good luck with your travels to Shanghai and visiting the observation decks. Read our articles about China ( links below).

Shanghai is taking the lead in terms of the number of skyscrapers - there are at least 2 buildings over 400 meters high, and there are also plans to build an even larger tower with 129 floors, which will shoot into the sky next to the already famous "corn" - the Jin Mao Tower and the "fashionable futuristic opener" for bottles" - Shanghai World Trade Center.

Shanghai World Financial Center - SWFC - is a giant skyscraper built in the prestigious Lujiazui district of Shanghai, which is called "China's Wall Street". This is a multifunctional building, it houses offices, hotels, conference rooms, restaurants, shopping centers, and on the upper floors there are observation decks that provide an opportunity to take a look at the surroundings of the metropolis. One of the most famous “tenants” of the Financial Center is the Park Hyatt Shanghai hotel, which includes 174 rooms and suites.

From this date, the Shanghai World Financial Center took over the baton from the neighboring Jin Mao Tower (height - 421 meters, number of floors - 88), which was for some time the tallest building in China and Hong Kong, and was one of the three most majestic skyscrapers in the world (including still unfinished, Dubai Tower). So, the Shanghai World Financial Center consists of 101 floors, the height of the building is just under half a kilometer (!), or more precisely 492 meters. To compare the power and strength of this giant, you can mentally imagine the size of 16 typical 9-story buildings stacked on top of each other!

The idea for the construction of SWFC came to the mind of architect Kohn Pederson Fox in the nineties of the last century; the foundation stone was laid on August 27, 1997, but due to the financial crisis of 1998, construction had to be frozen for several years. In addition, the design of the tower underwent some changes, and further work on the object continued using updated drawings. Construction was carried out with financing from a number of large multinational companies - Japanese, Chinese, Hong Kong corporations, as well as as yet unnamed European and American investors.

This is how this object was built:

The tower was built by the Japanese company Mori Building Corporation. The main designer of the project is David Malott from the New York company Kohn Pedersen Fox. The American designer, Japanese engineers and Chinese foremen are truly a global center.

The building has passed all earthquake resistance tests and can withstand an earthquake of up to magnitude seven.

During the construction of the tower, the experience of September 11 was taken into account, when people on the floors above the floor on which the fire occurred could not go down.

A protected floor is located on every twelfth floor of the building.

It is designed to shelter people from a fire until rescuers arrive.

Each floor has its own reinforced concrete frame, which divides the entire building into sections and increases its strength properties.

The first site is located at an altitude of 423 meters above the ground on the 94th floor, the second - 439 m. on the 97th, well, and the third, called “Observatory-Bridge”, is equipped on the 100th floor at an altitude of 474 meters from the base of the foundation. Interestingly, it was previously planned to install a spire on the roof of the skyscraper, which would add a few more meters to the building.

In August 2007, when the skyscraper was almost ready, a fire broke out on the 40th floor. Thanks to the efforts of firefighters, the fire was quickly extinguished, but the cause of the fire has not yet been clarified. On September 14, 2007, the last steel beam was installed and the height was measured. Success! The skyscraper reached the coveted height of 492 meters. Next, finishing with reflective panels began, the interior of the building was renovated, and elevators and escalators were installed. As a result, the Mori Building received its first visitors on August 30, 2008. It is noteworthy that the expressive design of the “opener” did not leave the world’s best architects indifferent, and at the end of 2008, the Shanghai World Trade Center building was recognized as the best skyscraper in the world. Shanghai is now a city of skyscrapers. It is planned to complete the construction of 24 buildings with a height of 243 meters by 2008; it is interesting that in 2005 only 8 high-rise buildings were put into operation.