Shimao International Plaza, Shanghai

Shimao International Plaza 上海世茂国际广场 is a 333.3 m (1,094 ft) tall skyscraper of 60 stories in Shanghai's Huangpu District. It was completed in 2005 under the design of Ingenhoven, Overdiek und Partner, East China Architecture and Design Institute.

Shimao International Plaza has two spires on its top, which make its total construction height to 333.3 metres. Most of the building (the upper 48 floors) houses the five-star, ultra-luxurious Le Royal Méridien Shanghai hotel with 770 rooms. The building also includes a 9 floor shopping mall and 3 floors of exclusive clubs. Shanghai Shimao Group bought the original developer of the tower, Wan Xiang Group, in 2001 and the name of the building was changed.

Facts 
Official Name : Shimao International Plaza
Type : building
Status : Completed
Country : China
City : Shanghai
Building Function : hotel / office
Structural Material : concrete
Start of Construction : 2001
Completion : 2006
Global Ranking : #30 tallest in the World
Regional Ranking : #18 tallest in Asia (excluding the Middle East)
National Ranking : #14 tallest in China
City Ranking : #3 tallest in Shanghai

Shanghai World Financial Centeri

The Shanghai World Financial Center (SWFC; Chinese: 上海环球金融中心) is a supertall skyscraper located in the Pudong district of Shanghai,China. It was designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox and developed by Mori Building. It is a mixed-use skyscraper, consisting of offices, hotels, conference rooms, observation decks, and ground-floor shopping malls. Park Hyatt Shanghai is the hotel component, containing 174 rooms and suites. Occupying the 79th to the 93rd floors, it is the second-highest hotel in the world, surpassing the Grand Hyatt Shanghai on the 53rd to 87th floors of the neighboring Jin Mao Tower.

The SWFC opened on 28 August 2008, with its observation deck opening two days later. This observation deck, currently the world's tallest, offers views from 474 m (1,555 ft) above ground level. The SWFC has been lauded for its design, and in 2008 it was named by architects as the year's best completed skyscraper. (Source form Wikipedia)

Facts :
Official Name : Shanghai World Financial Center
Type : building
Status : completed
Country : China
City : Shanghai
Building Function : hotel / office 
Structural Material : composite 
Proposed : 1997 
Start of Construction : 1997 
Completion : 2008 
Global Ranking : #3 tallest building in the world 
Regional Ranking : #2 tallest building in Asia (excluding the Middle East) 
National Ranking : #1 tallest building in China 
City Ranking : #1 tallest building in Shanghai

Panama City's Skyline

Panama City's Skyline

Hotel Bella Sky Denmark

3XN meet tight constraints with an innovative and angular hotel

The Bella Conference Centre wanted a hotel that would mark and support Copenhagen's increasing importance on the international convention and congress scene. At the same time they wanted a hotel where the architecture, the design and the materials used would give the guests an experience into Nordic culture and aesthetics. 


3XN designed a hotel that with its sculptural profile and high visibility draw many visitors to the Ørestad neighbourhood, thereby strengthening the broad awareness of the conference centre. Inside, 3XN focused on creating an interior that communicates informal and friendly hospitality and that through colours, materials and design reflect the characteristics of Nordic nature, design tradition and innovation.

Developing the design was the result of a dynamic and pragmatic process where the challenges of the programme formed creative solutions. As the building site was small, the possibilities for placement for the building were limited. The challenge was to provide as many rooms as possible with a view, while staying below the maximum building height of 76.5 metres. This led to the two slanted tower solution allowing for views from most of the 814 hotel rooms. The architectural solution not only solves the problem but it also leads to a unique shape of the building, adding an iconic value to the hotel and providing the convention area with strong landmark.

The façade reflects the angled movement of the building and underlines the urban pulse, and the inside offers innovative features such as green walls and a unique LED lamp installation in the foyer.


For the interior design 3XN chose the best from the Nordic tradition in terms of new and classic items from designers such as Hay, Arne Jacobsen and Finn Juhl. The common thread running through the furniture, textiles and lamps, are round organic forms, underlining the informal and relaxed mood. Synthetic materials are banned. Hence, carpets are in wool, bed sheets in pure cottons, and there is a prevailing use of natural materials such as wood and leather found throughout the décor. The smokey colour palette gives the rooms warmth and creates references to the Nordic nature, which is evident from the hotel views over the neighbouring nature park.

Velo Towers in Seoul Korea

Pair of Velo Towers in Seoul design revealed by Asymptote Architecture

Yet another ambitious project at the Yongsan International Business District in Seoul has been unveiled. New York-based Asymptote Architecture has revealed its plans for a pair of residential towers. The two buildings will sit neatly at the Yongsan Dreamhub development site, arranged as a series of stacked and rotated volumes angled specifically to take in the best views over the Yongsan Park and Han River.

The two towers are connected by a skybridge which is suspended 30 storeys above ground level, providing the residents of both structures with fitness and recreation centres, communal lounges, pools, spas and eateries, as well as a landscaped sky garden. A raised plinth at ground level also offers communal facilities in a light-filled atrium. Residential communities are grouped in six- to eight-storey sections in rotated units which Asymptote Architecture suggests separates The Velo Towers from the typical residential skyscraper concept.

Each of the 500 individual apartments vary in size from 45 sq m to 82 sq m and have been deliberately designed to enable the integration of prefabricated plug-in interior components. The external facades have also been conceptualised with prefab parts, including custom moulded composite shells coated in pearlescent automotive paint.

Asymptote Architecture: VELO TOWERS, Yongsan District, Seoul, South Korea, 2012

Yongsan International Business District (YIBD) in Seoul

International architecture firm Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates (KPF) is pleased to present its design for Block H of the Yongsan International Business District (YIBD) in Seoul. The goal of YIBD is to create a new symbol for the 21st Century city; a new urban center in Seoul for international business, living, entertainment, and shopping. YIBD will lead the world in innovative design, maximizing the site potential and taking advantage of connections made to its urban and natural assets. The master plan, created byStudio Daniel Libeskind, is a dynamic urban environment containing contributions from 19 different architects practicing in diverse locations around the globe.

Scheduled for completion in 2016, Block H consists of a luxury 5-Star hotel and high-end serviced residential building containing 167,225 square meters of space. The 385-meter-tall tower sits on a 14,600-square-meter parcel of land on the northeastern border of the YIBD, achieving an FAR of 11.4%. KPF’s building is situated in a way that seeks to mediate the extreme height (665m) of the landmark office tower to the northwest, and transition this height to the lower scale of the residential blocks beyond. KPF sought to intensify the social aspect of the street through a distinct urban landscape and diverse program at the lower levels of the building.

According to KPF Design Principal, Trent Tesch, “Our goal for this project is to establish and make connections to street life, the new city of Yongsan, and to the larger context of Seoul. We do this through a thoughtful approach to the building’s program, position, and character.” 


Fundamental to the logic of the unique shape of the design is the idea that the building is comprised of apartments and hotel rooms that demand ample natural light, dramatic views, and maximum privacy. These three internal parameters have shaped the DNA of the Architecture. Like an organic system that seeks equilibrium with nature, the design grows outward from the center, towards views and light, into three distinct “wings.” The three wings guarantee that the residential apartments will have a major corner view from the living space, while maximizing its privacy from the adjacent unit. Unlike most “Y” type high-rise towers, the design “steps” each wing asymmetrically so there is a low-wing, a mid-wing and a high-wing. The building is carefully oriented to increase views to the Han River to the south (low-wing), the Yongsan Park to the east (mid-wing), and the Nam-San historic district and adjacent landmark tower to the north (high-wing).

Trump Tower™ Manila Philippines

Trump Tower™ Manila, Makati City, Philippines

This 250m spire is owned and developed by Philippines-based Century Properties who are marketing the project as ‘a symbol of power, achievement and modern grandeur’. If seen through to realisation, Trump Tower™ Manila will be one of the tallest buildings in the Philippines, incorporating over 220 units of sleek residential space ranging from 57 sq m to a generous 435 sq m, supported by various luxury amenities. 


These exclusive facilities include a library, business centre, communal lounge, video room, juice bar, sun deck, lap pool, and spa and fitness centre. Located in the developer’s flagship development - Century City - within the financial district of Makati City, this is a tower for the elite.

Trump Tower Manila

Beijing International Airport

According to the U.S. Embassy to China, the country will be building 108 new airports between 2004 and 2009 -- including what will be the world's largest. 


The Beijing International Airport, designed by Foster & Partners. Set to open at the end of 2007, in time for the Beijing Olympics in 2008, the airport terminal will cover more than 1 million square meters, giving it a bigger footprint than the Pentagon.