Celebrating China's Shanghai Tower feat

A recent event in Shanghai, China commemorated a milestone in the history of tall buildings. The US-based Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) joined officials of Shanghai Tower in unveiling a commemorative signboard designating the iconic tower as the tallest building in China and the second-tallest in the world.

It has been designed by Gensler and is owned by a consortium of Chinese state-owned companies. It has also been made sustainable through its construction practices.  With a height of 632 metres, Shanghai Tower is only the third ‘megatall’ building of 600 metres or higher in the world. The Shanghai Tower joins the Jin Mao Tower and SWFC to form the world’s first adjacent grouping of 3 supertall buildings.

Chaired by CTBUH China Office Director Daniel Safarik, the unveiling ceremony took place in front of the entrance of Shanghai Tower, with more than 40 invited guests from the tall building industry in attendance. Brief remarks were made by CTBUH Chairman David Malott, a design principal at KPF, and Jianping Gu, general manager, Shanghai Tower Business Operation & Management Co. Ltd. He stated that the design, engineering and construction effort that went into building the tower succeeded in creating an icon and a beautiful sculpture.