Shanghai Tower

Buildings Construction 








The Shanghai Tower is a 632-metre (2,073 ft), 128-story megatall skyscraper in Lujiazui, Pudong, Shanghai. It also has the world's highest observation deck within a building or structure (Level 121, 561.25 m), and the world's fastest elevators at a top speed of 20.5 metres per second (74 km/h; 46 mph). It is the world's second-tallest building by height to architectural top.

Shanghai Tower
Designed by international design firm Gensler and owned by the Shanghai city government, it is the tallest of the world's first triple-adjacent super-tall buildings in Pudong, the other two being the Jin Mao Tower and the Shanghai World Financial Centre. Its tiered construction, designed for high energy efficiency, provides nine separate zones divided between office, retail and leisure use.


Construction work on the tower began in November 2008 and topped out on 3 August 2013. The exterior was completed in summer 2015, and work was considered complete in September 2015. Although the building was originally scheduled to open to the public in November 2014, the actual public-use date slipped considerably. The observation deck was opened to visitors in July 2016; the period from July through September 2016 was termed a "test run" or "commissioning" period. Since April 26, 2017, the sightseeing deck on the 118th floor has been open to the public.

Shanghai Tower is the winner of Tien-yow Jeme Civil Engineering Prize of 2018.

The Shanghai Tower was designed by the American architectural firm Gensler, with Shanghainese architect Jun Xia leading the design team.

The tower takes the form of nine cylindrical buildings stacked atop each other, totalling 128 floors, all enclosed by the inner layer of the glass facade. Between that and the outer layer, which twists as it rises, nine indoor zones provide public space for visitors. Each of these nine areas has its own atrium, featuring gardens, cafés, restaurants and retail space, and providing panoramic views of the city.


Both layers of the façade are transparent, and retail and event spaces are provided at the tower's base. The transparent façade is a unique design feature, because most buildings have only a single façade using highly reflective glass to reduce heat absorption, but the Shanghai Tower's double layer of glass eliminates the need for either layer to be opaqued. The tower is able to accommodate as many as 16,000 people on a daily basis. More details