Amazing Architecture

One of the biggest developers in Dubai – Nakheel is planning huge investment that will become soon on of the biggest building-site in the world. The plan schedules area of over 270 hectares to be covered. This project will be finished in ten years from the start. The will be about 40 towers in height from twenty to ninety floors (250-350 meters) and the highest building in the world – the Nakheel Tower (more than 1000 meters high which is also more than 3280 feet). The main building will contain about 200 floors and 150 lifts. The building will be huge construction made of four separate elements leaving free spaces between them to let the wind pass freely.

Nakheel Tower. Image taken from Skyscrapercity forums.

Nakheel Tower. Image taken from Skyscrapercity forums.

The Nakheel Tower will allow more than 55 thousand people to live there and another 45 thousand will get job while building the complex. The tower will contain 10.000 parking spaces, and the whole complex more than 950.000 sq meters of commerce space and retail, more than 19.000 residential apartments, more than 3500 hotel rooms (with exclusive 100 room hotel inside Nakheel Tower).

Nakheel Tower. Image taken from Skyscrapercity forums.

Nakheel Tower. Image taken from Skyscrapercity forums.

The investment is currently on hold and predicted start is set to early 2010.

Shanghai Tower is under construction since fall 2008 and will be probably finished in 2014. It will stand in Pudong district of Shanghai. The building will be 632 meters high (2073 ft) with 128 floors to use. The total high of the building is 632 meters but only 565 meters till roof (the rest will be antennas or spire). The contained area will be approximately 380.000 quadratmeters (4,090,000 sq ft). This will be the second tallest building in the world and tallest in China. The approximate cost of the building will be probably around 2,2 billion dollars.

Construction site in mid 2009. Photo taken from Skyscrapercity forums.

Plans of creating financial district in Shanghai were announced in 1993 and included plans of three huge supertalls. Two of them are already standing (Jin Mao building – finished in 1998 and Shanghai World Financial Center – finished in 2008).

Shanghai Tower finally approved project in surroundings of other Shanghai supertalls. Image taken from Skyscrapercity forums.

After years of proposals government chosen design from Gensler. This very innovative construction spins and twists around the central core surrounded by a curtain of glass. The project is based on nine cylindrical cores sticked to each other and rising in twisted shape. This design is supposed to reduce the wind pressure on the whole construction (wind loads will be reduced by 24%). Used materials and unique shape will highly reduce the energy consumption.

Another view of futuristic Shanghai Tower. Image taken from Skyscrapercity forums.

The construction is not only innovative but beautiful. Surely this will be one of the most impressive supertalls ever rised. The facade is changing in all directions showing China’s connection to the world, time and space. There will be six sky gardens in building’s parameter. The exterior and interior skin of the building will be transparent. There will be also places for atrium and inside civic squares which makes building open to the world and giving people a lot of public space.

The downtown in Chicago is being embellished with new skyscraper which architecture is one of the finest examples of unconventional ways of thinking about tall buildings. This one is a 82 story (five underground), 251 meters high (that is 822 feet) highrise of mixed residential use. It is still under construction, but topped-out already. The building is designed by Jeanne Gang, and what is interesting – this is her first project.

Aqua, Chicago. Photo taken from Skyscrapercity forums.

The building will consist eight-floor base with wide terrace with gardens, pools, hot tubs, gazebos, fire pit and running track. The building has balconies stretched up to 3,7 meters (12 ft) what gives the irregular shape and makes facade an undulating. This solution is very simple and effective, especially when looking from the ground level. Looking on the building from far away makes the irregular shape almost invisible. That is the only flaw that could be seen here, but the whole idea and construction itself are outstanding.

Aqua, Chicago. Photo taken from Skyscrapercity forums.

Finishing the building is scheduled on 2010. Aqua will be filled with 474 rental units filling 33 stores. Fairmont Hotel was supposed to rent 15 floors from the buildings space, but in Augus 2008 worth 84 million $ conctract was terminated, compared to economical environment changes.

Aqua, Chicago. Photo taken from Skyscrapercity forums.

Aqua, Chicago. Photo taken from Skyscrapercity forums.