Take a 2,000 foot high tower built for housing, hotels, office space, restaurants, retail shops, twist it 120 degrees clockwise, build it in sections, add eight 12-story high open non-leasable vertical gardens or mini parks, hang a second skin to enclose the open mini parks, make it able to accommodate 120-130 mile-per-hour winds from the typhoons, and what do you have? A super skyscraper.
The Shanghai Tower is currently the second tallest building in the world. Shanghai is a city with a population of over 24 million, or three times the population of New York City. Shanghai Tower was designed by Gensler, built by Shanghai Construction Group, and is owned by the Chinese government. It is quite a feat to behold. In an era of engineering and architectural feats never before possible, this one raises the bar again.
PBS is rebroadcasting their series on the Super Skyscrapers, and this is one of the series that will hold your attention whether you are an engineer, architect, contractor or a person who used to play with Lincoln Logs or Lego blocks as a kid.
The series can be seen on your local PBS station or you can stream it online.
