Construction of 'world's tallest building' begins in China

[-:Undertaker:-]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...-in-China.html

Construction of 'world's tallest building' begins in China

A Chinese construction company has begun building what it hopes will become the tallest building on earth.

Artist impressions: The developer behind the project said the 208-storey skyscraper would be completed by April.

The Sky City tower is being built on the rural outskirts Changsha, a city in China's Hunan province, and comes with an equally stratospheric price tag of around 5.25 billion yuan (£560 million).

At a ceremony on Saturday, Zhang Yue, chairman of Broad Group – the developer behind the project – said the 208-storey skyscraper would be completed by April.

At 2739ft it would overtake Dubai's 2716.5ft Burj Khalifa as the world's tallest building.

China is no stranger to super-tall buildings. Four of the world's nine highest skyscrapers are currently located in mainland China while another, the 1,588ft International Commerce Centre, is in Hong Kong.

Next year, Shanghai is expected to rob Taipei of the honour of being home to the "tallest building in Asia" when the 2073ft Shanghai Tower is completed.

Still, plans for Changsha's Sky City are impressive even by Chinese standards.

The finished product will contain a massive 1.05 million square metres of space, with 202 levels above the surface and six underground.

Into that space, the developers will pack apartments, schools, shopping malls, theatres, cinemas, over 90 lifts and even a hospital. Sky City is also expected to boast a giant "vertical farm" that can provide food for the building's 30,000-plus residents.

"People don't want to have to get on trains or drive a car to get to work," Mr Zhang told a conference in southwest China last month, according to the website of Construction Week.

"Sky City will take some 2,000 cars off the road simply because its residents can find most of what they need right where they live."

Sky City has suffered repeated delays despite government promises to "unswervingly" support Mr Zhang's mega-project.

It was originally scheduled for completion in March 2013 but the ground was only broken on Saturday.

Last month, Hong Kong's South China Morning Post poked fun at the project's failure to take off – noting that the building site was still nothing but "a verdant expanse playing host to the cattle of local villagers."

WORLD'S TALLEST SKYSCRAPERS

1. Burj Khalifa, Dubai – 2716.5ft

2. Taipei 101, Taiwan -1667ft

3. Shanghai World Financial Center, China – 1614ft

4. International Commerce Centre, Hong Kong – 1588ft

5. Petronas Tower 1, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – 1483ft

6. Zifeng Tower, Nanjing, China – 1476ft

7. Willis Tower, Chicago – 1451ft

8. Kingkey 100, Shenzhen, China – 1449ft

9. Guangzhou International Finance Center, China -1439ft

(source: Forbes)

The bigger picture looks like something out of the former Soviet Union, very much in the style of the famous 'Seven Sisters' - and just as ugly assuming the picture is an accurate portrayal. Still, the good news is that if it does turn out to be hideous (as most modern buildings are) then the smog in China will at least block it out of the skyline - something that can't be said for the 'Shard' in London.

But there you have it. I have to say though that one building and super tall skyscraper that has impressed me has been the Royal Mecca Clock Tower in Saudi Arabia - rather nice as it has the large clock face and incorporates local Arabic design into the building rather than it just being another bland skyscraper that you could find in any old city around the world. Here's the clock tower I am referring to btw -

Thoughts?

[karter]

will be completed by april? wth

[Zak]

Wow. I really didn't think anyone would beat the Burj Khalifa as the tallest building in the world for alonnnggg time. How wrong I was!

My bet is Dubai will try and go alot higher if the Chinese build the tallest building in the world. It's liek a race to the moon with these things now

[lemons]

will be completed by april? wth

the chinese are capable of anything

[Chippiewill]

will be completed by april? wth

Comes with lack of proper regulation.

[Ardemax]

will be completed by april? wth

They built the largest (by surface area, I think) building ever in a year. I believe it is now an empty shopping mall.

[Hannah]

What I can never understand is why they spend so much money on trying to beat other countries in things other than making their country better and improving the lifestyles of their community.

[dbgtz]

What's wrong with the Shard...

Either way it'll end up being another empty building, no doubt.

[Chippiewill]

What's wrong with the Shard...

Dan is a troll and therefore enjoys holding controversial opinions.

[GommeInc]

Meh, just a big building to compensate for something else. These tall buildings are only there to symbolise power, rather than have a specific use. If anything, most of the building houses the mechanics to keep it from tumbling down when there's an earthquake or a slight breeze - Taipei 101 is one example of a building which houses a huge pendulum which takes up about 1/3 of it.

Architecturally, they're fascinating and amazing, but other than that they're impractical and, knowing China, won't be used and will be empty for a long, long time.

Dan is a troll and therefore enjoys holding controversial opinions.

That doesn't make him a troll. The Shard is a bit of a controversial building, so he has a point. It is quite a bland building that does stick out like a sore thumb. Personally I do not mind it, but it's questionable as to whether or not the building was needed :/