Guangzhou TV & Sightseeing Tower

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**Guangzhou TV & Sightseeing Tower**
Technical Data

Use	T.V. Channel Disks,Observation Deck
Structural height	610 m (2,001 ft) (est.)
Height to tip	610 m (2,001 ft) (est.)
Height to roof	454 m (1,489 ft) (est.)
Height to top floor	(1,500 ft) (est.)
Floors (Above ground)	37
Floors (Under ground)	2
Groundbreaking	November 2005
Topout	2009 (est.)
Opening	2010
Gross floor area	114,054 m²
Companies
Developer	-
Architect	Mark Hemel, Barbara Kuit; IBA
Engineer Contractor	Arup

Guangzhou TV & Sightseeing Tower, 2007

Guangzhou TV & Sightseeing Tower is an under construction tower located in the city of Guangzhou, China. It is due to be completed at the end of 2009, in order to be fully operational for the 2010 Asian Games.

[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 ‘waist-line ’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 180m long open-air skywalk where visitors can physically climb the tower. There are outdoor gardens set within the structure, and at the top at +450m 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 giant building’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 +80m up to +170m, 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 building 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, high above the booming city of Guangzhou.