TheShanghai World Financial Center (SWFC;Chinese:上海环球金融中心;pinyin:Shànghǎi Huánqiú Jīnróng Zhōngxīn,Shanghainese:Zånhae Guejieu Cinyon Tsonsin) is asupertallskyscraper located in thePudong district ofShanghai. It was designed byKohn Pedersen Fox and developed by theMori Building Company, with Leslie E. Robertson Associates as its structural engineer andChina State Construction Engineering Corp and Shanghai Construction (Group) General Co. as its main contractor. It is a mixed-use skyscraper, consisting of offices, hotels, conference rooms, and a ground-floor shopping mall.Park Hyatt Shanghai is the tower's hotel component, comprising 174 rooms and suites occupying the 79th to the 93rd floors, which at the time of completion was the highest hotel in the world. It is now the third-highest hotel in the world after theRitz-Carlton, Hong Kong, which occupies floors 102 to 118 of theInternational Commerce Centre.[6][when?]
On 14 September 2007, the skyscraper wastopped out at 492 meters (1,614.2 ft),[1][7] making it the2nd tallest building in the world[8] on completion (the tallest at the time beingTaipei 101), the tallest building in the world by roof height only, andthe tallest in mainland China.[9] The SWFC opened to the public on 28 August 2008, with its (since closed)observation deck opening on 30 August. The observation deck offered views from 474 m (1,555 ft) above ground level.[10]
The SWFC has been lauded for its design, and in 2008 it was named by architects as the year's best-completed skyscraper.[11][12] In 2013, the SWFC was exceeded in height by the adjacentShanghai Tower,[13] which is China's tallest structure as of 2023[update]. Together, The Shanghai World Financial Center, TheShanghai Tower and TheJin Mao Tower form the world's first adjacent grouping of three supertall skyscrapers.
Designed by American architectural firmKohn Pedersen Fox, the 100-story tower was originally planned for construction in 1997, but work was temporarily interrupted by the1997 Asian financial crisis, and was later paused to accommodate design changes by the Mori Building Company. The building of the tower was financed by several multinational firms, including Chinese, Japanese, and Hong Kong banks, as well as by the Japanese developer and American and European investors. The American investment bankMorgan Stanley coordinated the tower's financing for Mori Building.
The tower's foundation stone was laid on 27 August 1997. In the late 1990s, the Pierre de Smet Building Corporation suffered a funding shortage caused by the1997 Asian financial crisis, which halted the project after the foundations were completed. On 13 February 2003, the Mori Group increased the building's height to 492 m (1,614 ft) and 101 stories, from the initial plans for a 460-metre (1,509 ft), 94-stories building. The new building used the foundations of the original design, and construction work was resumed on 16 November 2003.[14]
A fire broke out in the incomplete SWFC on 14 August 2007. The fire was first noticed on the 40th floor, around 16:30 (GMT +8), and soon the smoke was clearly seen outside the building. By 17:45, the fire had been extinguished. The damage was reported to be slight, and nobody was injured in the accident.[15] The cause of the fire remains unknown, but according to some sources the preliminary investigation suggested workers' electric weldings caused the fire.[16]
The building reached its full height of 492 m (1,614 ft) on 14 September 2007 after the installation of the final steel girder.[17] The final cladding panels were installed in mid-June 2008, and elevator installation was finished in mid-July. The Shanghai World Financial Center was declared complete on 17 July 2008, and was officially opened on 28 August.[10] On 30 August 2008, the tower's observation floors were opened to the public.
The Shanghai World Financial Center compared with other Asian skyscrapers.
Since the completion of the adjacentShanghai Tower in 2016, the World Financial Center observation deck was no longer the tallest in Shanghai and consequently saw decreasing visitor numbers. This situation was exasperated by theCovid-19 pandemic, which in 2023 led to the deck's permanent closing.[18]
The top of the building, with the aperture clearly visible.
The most distinctive feature of the SWFC's design is the trapezoid aperture at the peak. The original design specified a circular aperture, 46 m (151 ft) in diameter, to reduce the stresses of wind pressure[19] and to reference the Chinese mythological depiction of the sky as a circle.[19] It also resembled a Chinesemoon gate due to its circular form inChinese architecture. However, this initial design began facing protests from some Chinese, including the mayor of Shanghai,Chen Liangyu, who considered it too similar to therising sun design of theJapanese flag. This was controversial due to Japan's ties to war crimes in China and other parts of Asia. Pedersen then suggested that a bridge be placed at the bottom of the aperture to make it less circular.[4] On 18 October 2005, KPF submitted an alternative design to Mori Building and a trapezoidal hole replaced the circle at the top of the tower, which in addition to changing the controversial design, would also be cheaper and easier to implement, according to the architects.[4][20] Foreigners and Chinese alike informally refer to the building as "thebottle opener".[21] Metal replicas of the building that function as actual bottle openers are sold in the tower's gift shop.
The tower features three separateobservation decks which constitute the floors above and below the aperture opening. The height of the lowest observation deck, located on the 94th floor, is 423 m (1,388 ft); the second, on the 97th floor, is at a height of 439 m (1,440 ft); and the highest, on the 100th floor, is 474 m (1,555 ft) high.
The skyscraper's roof height is set at 492 m (1,614 ft), and was at one point the highest roof in the world. Before construction on the roof was completed, the SWFC's total height was scheduled to be 509.2 m (1,671 ft) so that it would exceed the height of theTaipei 101, but a height limit was imposed, allowing the roof to reach a maximum height of 492 metres. ArchitectWilliam Pedersen and developerMinoru Mori resisted suggestions to add a spire that would surpass that of Taipei 101 and perhapsOne World Trade Center, calling the SWFC a "broad-shouldered building". The SWFC boasts a gross floor area of more than 377,300 m2 (4,061,200 sq ft), 31 elevators, and 33 escalators.
The tower's trapezoid aperture is made up of structural steel and reinforced concrete. A large number of forces, such as wind loads, the people in the building and heavy equipment housed in the building, act on the SWFC's structure. These compressive and bending forces are carried down to the ground by the diagonal-braced frame (with added outrigger trusses). The design employs an effective use of material, because it decreases the thickness of the outer core shear walls and the weight of the structural steel in the perimeter.
Shanghai World Financial Center was named by architects as the best skyscraper completed in 2008, receiving both the Best Tall Building Overall and Asia & Australasia awards from theCouncil on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH).[11][26] CTBUH's Carol Willis, head of New York'sSkyscraper Museum, stated: "The simplicity of its form as well as its size dramatizes the idea of the skyscraper."[11] Architect Tim Johnson noted its innovative structural design: "Steel trusses guard against the forces of wind and earthquake and made the building lighter, made it use less steel, and contributed to its sustainability."[11] Johnson described the SWFC's structure as "nothing short of genius."[26]
^上海环球金融中心租掉了大半.21世纪经济报道. 18 December 2009. Retrieved3 January 2016.
^"Google locations."Google. Retrieved 25 May 2016. "Google Shanghai 60F, Shanghai World Financial Center 100 Century Avenue, Pudong New Area Shanghai 200120, China"
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