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Coordinates: 23°06′23.3″N 113°19′28.5″E / 23.106472°N 113.324583°E / 23.106472; 113.324583
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|location = [[Guangzhou]], [[People's Republic of China|China]]
|location = [[Guangzhou]], [[People's Republic of China|China]]
|coordinates = {{coord|23|06|23.3|N|113|19|28.5|E|display=inline,title}}
|coordinates = {{coord|23|06|23.3|N|113|19|28.5|E|display=inline,title}}
|antenna_spire = {{convert|610|m|ft|1|abbr=on}}
|antenna_spire = {{convert|600|m|ft|1|abbr=on}}
|roof = {{convert|454|m|ft|1|abbr=on}}
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Revision as of 16:11, 13 August 2010

Guangzhou TV & Sightseeing Tower
广州电视观光塔
The Guangzhou TV & Sightseeing Tower under construction in mid-June 2009
Map
General information
StatusTopped-out
LocationGuangzhou, China
Coordinates23°06′23.3″N 113°19′28.5″E / 23.106472°N 113.324583°E / 23.106472; 113.324583
Height
Antenna spire600 m (1,968.5 ft)
Roof454 m (1,489.5 ft)
Technical details
Floor count37 (excl. 2 below ground)
Floor area114,054 m2 (1,227,700 sq ft)
Lifts/elevators5
Design and construction
Architect(s)Mark Hemel, Barbara Kuit; IBA
EngineerArup

Guangzhou TV & Sightseeing Tower (also known as Canton Tower[1]) is a tower currently under construction near Chigang Pagoda, Haizhu District, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China. It was topped-out in 2009 and will be completed in 2010 in order to be fully operational for the 2010 Asian Games.

History

The Guangzhou TV & Sightseeing Tower is designed by the Dutch architects Mark Hemel and Barbara Kuit. Their company, Information Based Architecture, is based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. In 2004 Information Based Architecture won the international competition, in which many of the world's larger architectural offices participated, with a stunning and challenging design. IBA collaborated with Arup, the global design and business consulting firm headquartered in London, UK. 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 2010 and is also known as Canton Tower.

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 structural concept and design of the tower is an integrated design by Information Based Architecture and Arup. The Arup team lead by structural engineer Prof. Joop Paul introduced near mass customisation to the joint design in combination with parametric design, opening the way to use a very simple structural concept of columns, rings and braces to this more complex geometry.

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, just 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 big 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.

At night, the tower glows and emits light rather than being uplit. Every node in the lighting design is individually controllable to allow for animations and colour changes across the entire height of the tower. The concept lighting design was done by Rogier van der Heide who worked at that time for Arup

An elliptical track is to be constructed around the periphery of the tower's roof, and 16 transparent "crystal" passenger cars, each with a diameter of 3.2 metres (10 ft) and able to carry four to six people, will take between 20 and 40 minutes to circumnavigate the track.[2]

According to the New TV Tower Construction Company, which is responsible for construction of the project, the design was to be finalised in April 2009, construction begun by November 2009, installation finished by February 2010, and testing completed in August 2010. Opening to the public is scheduled for October 2010, when Guangzhou hosts the 16th Asian Games.[2]

The installation is described by the media as a Ferris wheel,[3][4] however its passenger cars are not suspended from the rim of a wheel (in fact there is no wheel) and remain horizontal without being fully rotated, and the track, which follows the incline of the oblique roof, is closer to the horizontal than the vertical.

  • Construction begins February 2007
    Construction begins
    February 2007
  • October 2007
    October 2007
  • November 2007
    November 2007
  • August 2008
    August 2008

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Guangzhou TV & Sightseeing Tower.

References

  1. ^ GUANGZHOU TV TOWER - Info Photos Design - World's Tallest Tower
  2. ^ a b World's highest ferris wheel coming to Guangzhou - The Official Website of the 16th Asian Games
  3. ^ Caixiong, Zheng. "Tallest Ferris wheel planned in Guangzhou". China Daily. Retrieved 2010-06-06.
  4. ^ "Tallest Ferris wheel planned". People's Daily. Retrieved 2010-06-06.
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