Seven Castles

Jinmao Tower

                                      

January 24, 2008

 

Jinmao Tower (literally "Golden Prosperity Building") is an 88-story landmark skyscraper in Little Lujiazui (the core of Lujiazui) of the Pudong New Area of Shanghai. It covers an area of 23,000 square meters, with a height of 402.5 meters and a total construction area of 290,000 square meters. It contains offices and the Shanghai Grand Hyatt hotel. Until 2007 it was the tallest building in China, the fifth tallest in the world by roof height and the seventh tallest by pinnacle height. Along with the Oriental Pearl Tower, it is a centerpiece of the Pudong skyline. It was surpassed on September 14, 2007 by the Shanghai World Financial Center.

 

Designed by the Chicago office of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, its postmodern form, whose complexity rises as it ascends, draws on traditional Chinese architecture such as the tiered pagoda, gently stepping back to create a rhythmic pattern as it rises. The building's proportions revolve around the number 8, associated with prosperity in Chinese culture. The 88 floors (93 if the spire floors are counted) are divided into 16 segments, each of which is 1/8th shorter than the 16-story base. The tower is built around an octagon-shaped concrete shear wall core surrounded by 8 exterior composite super-columns and 8 exterior steel columns. Three sets of 8 two-story high outrigger trusses connect the columns to the core at six of the floors to provide additional support.

 

The exterior curtain wall is made of glass, stainless steel, aluminum, and granite, and is crisscrossed by complex latticework cladding made of aluminum alloy pipes.

 

The construction started on May 10, 1994. Official dedication was August 28 1998, a date also chosen with the number 8 in mind. The building was fully operational in 1999.

 

The building's anchor tenant is the five-star, 555-room Shanghai Grand Hyatt hotel that occupies floors 53 to 87. It is the highest hotel in the world in terms of distance from the ground, featuring a 31-story atrium that starts in the jazz lounge on the 57th story and rises up like a space station. Additionally, the world's longest laundry chute runs down the full length of the tower to the basement, and incorporates buffers to slow down the laundry during its descent.

 

The 88th floor (not part of the hotel) houses the Skywalk, a 1,520m² indoor observation deck (at 340m high) with a capacity of 1,000+ people. In addition to the panoramic views of Shanghai, it offers a topside view of the hotel atrium below. It also includes a small post office. Access is through two express elevators from the basement that travel at 9.1m/s and take 45 seconds to reach the top.

 

Levels 89-93, which occupy the building's spire, are mechanical floors not accessible to the public. They are illuminated in bright white at night.

 

The latticework cladding, made of aluminum alloy pipes, has attracted urban climbers, but spikes have also been added at ground level to deter them. 

【作者: zhangliping】【访问统计:】【2008年01月24日 星期四 18:19】【注册】【打印】