Guangzhou TV & Sightseeing Tower
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Guangzhou TV & Sightseeing Tower | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| The Guangzhou TV & Sightseeing Tower under construction in mid-June 2009 | |
| Information | |
| Location | Guangzhou, China |
| Coordinates | 23°06′23.3″N 113°19′28.5″E / 23.106472°N 113.324583°ECoordinates: 23°06′23.3″N 113°19′28.5″E / 23.106472°N 113.324583°E |
| Status | Second Tallest Metal Tower |
| Groundbreaking | November 2005 |
| Estimated completion | 2009 |
| Use | observation, telecommunications |
| Height | |
| Antenna/Spire | 610 m (2,001.3 ft) |
| Roof | 454 m (1,489.5 ft) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 37 (excl. 2 below ground) |
| Floor area | 114,054 m2 (1,227,700 sq ft) |
| Companies | |
| Architect | Mark Hemel, Barbara Kuit; IBA |
| Structural Engineer | Arup |
Guangzhou TV & Sightseeing Tower (also Called Canton tower[1]) is a tower currently under construction near Chigang Pagoda, Haizhu District, Guangzhou, China. It is due to be completed at the end of 2009, in order to be fully operational for the 2010 Asian Games.
Contents |
[edit] History
The TV & Sightseeing Tower is the first significant XL project designed by the Dutch architects Mark Hemel and Barbara Kuit. Their company Information Based Architecture, based in Amsterdam is at the forefront of architectural design creating innovative and highly artistic architecture using the state of the Art technologies and materials. The practice collaborated with Arup, the global design and business consulting firm headquartered in London, UK. The design was awarded first prize in a competition that was also joined by, among others, Coop Himmelblau, Richard Rogers Partnership, Cannon and KPF. In 2004 the IBA - Arup team in Amsterdam developed the concept design. In later stages IBA cooperated mainly with the local Chinese offices of Arup and a Local Design Institute. The tower is due to be completed in the beginning of 2010.
[edit] Design
The form, volume and hyperboloid structure are generated by two ellipses, one at foundation level and the other at an imaginary horizontal plane just above 450 metres. The tightening caused by the rotation between the two ellipses forms the characterizing "waistline" of the tower, and a densification of material. This means that the lattice structure, which at the bottom of the tower is porous and spacious, becomes denser at waist level. The waist itself is tightened, like a twisted rope; further up the tower the lattice opens again, accentuated here by the tapering of the structural column-tubes.
The waist of the tower contains a 180-metre long open-air skywalk where visitors can physically climb the tower. There are outdoor gardens set within the structure, and at the top, jsut above 450 metres, a large open-air observation deck.
The interior of the tower will be subdivided into programmatic zones with various functions, including TV and radio transmission facilities, observatory decks, revolving restaurants, computer gaming, restaurants, exhibition spaces, conference rooms, shops, and 4D cinemas.
A deck at the base of the tower hides the tower's functional workings. All infrastructural connections – metro and bus stations, and a pedestrian link to the northern embankment of the river – are met underground. This level supports other facilities as well, including a museum, a food court, extensive commercial space, a 600-vehicle parking area for cars and tourist coaches. The entrance operates on two levels, one a continuation of the landscape above ground, the other connected to the mass-transit and underground-parking facilities. Slow-speed panoramic and enclosed high-speed double-decker lifts serve both entrance levels.
The intermediate zone, from 80 up to 170 metres, consist of facilities including a 4D cinema, a play-hall area, restaurants, coffee shops and outdoor gardens with teahouses. An open-air staircase, the Skywalk, starts at the height of 170 metres and spirals almost 200 metres higher, all the way through the waist.
The top zone of the tower begins above the stairway, housing various technical functions as well as a two-storey rotating restaurant, a damper and the upper observation levels. From the upper observation levels it is possible to ascend even higher, via a further set of the stairs, to a terraced observation square rising above the tower's top ring.
 Construction begins |
 October 2007 |
 November 2007 |
 August 2008 |
[edit] See also
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Guangzhou TV & Sightseeing Tower |
- Guangzhou Television
- Guangzhou TV Tower
- Hyperboloid structure
- Adziogol Lighthouse
- List of towers
- List of tallest freestanding structures in the world
- List of Hyperboloid structures
- IBA
- Arup
[edit] References
- ^ "Information on Guangzhou TV & Sightseeing Tower", GZTVTower.info, Retrieved 2009-12-07
[edit] External links
- Information on Canton Tower or Guangzhou TV tower
- Information on architect of Guangzhou TV tower: Information Based Architecture
- Emporis entry
- New photos of Guangzhou TV & Sightseeing Tower
- Guangzhou TV & Sightseeing Tower
- 3D Animation of the construction of the Guangzhou TV & Sightseeing Tower by Intelibuild
- Info on designcommunity.com
- Info on skyscraperpage.com
- Thread on skyscrapercity.com
|
||||||||||||||||||||
