If that is indeed the final plan for this tower it will hands down be my favorite skyscraper to ever exist.

So this building will have nothing below grade? The photos are confusing because it appears there has been no excavation, am I missing something or is the plan to excavate later? Where are the piers?

^Excavation has been going on for some time now. See this post on SSC for a good overview of the site. http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpo...&postcount=988

ah- thanks scalziand:tup:

Updates...

it was meant for Gotham :)

http://img826.imageshack.us/img826/6494/pingannyc.jpg
http://img826.imageshack.us/img826/6494/pingannyc.jpg

Any updates on what will be my favorite tower in the world?

:previous: No, images from SSC show no activity at the site. I suppose it's on-hold. :(

This would actually look awesome.

:previous: If you want to put a Chinese skyscraper into Manhattan then please take the Shanghai Tower, Kingkey Finance Tower, ICC, Two IFC or the West Tower. Their design looks a lot better.

Recent shot; no activity at the site for weeks or months: :( :(

http://d.imagehost.org/0899/10_12_18_2_site_aerial.jpg


http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showth...517647&page=62

On-hold?

http://i344.photobucket.com/albums/p...s/90a3c88f.jpg

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=517647&page=64

If the two holes in the ground indicate the positions of the two towers, then they are going to be much closer than they look in the renderings.

No they haven't started construction of the second tower. The one hole is the main tower, the other a shopping mall.

I just heard that there is no activity at the site at the time... :(

hmmm.
Hopefully, it's just a temporary interruption.

I saw that amazing post @SSC ... it's worth being quoted here as well :

Why is it always the awesome ones that run into construction delays or, FSM forbid, get canceled? This is the best project in China right now.

Better than Shanghai Tower? I think not...:koko:

Best supertall in China? I seriously doubt it.

The best, IMHO has to be Tianjin Sino-Steel; simply a mesmerizing design; although I would prefer it in a sea of scrapers in a setting like Shanghai, Hongkong, Dubai or NYC.

A close second has to be Pearl River, very eye-catching and innovative; yet at the same time fits the skyline very well, and very green.

SC and Suzhou Orient gateway are not far behind; Leatop, Jialing Fanying, Kingkey, Wuxi Suning are all high on the list as well.

On the other hand, Ping'an's design would have to be close to the bottom of the list. I'm actually hoping that this delay is a result of some redesign efforts that will bring new an more inspiring design to this site. Right now, it is some wierd blend of faux-art-deco with post-modern, trying too hard to reach back into the glory days of scrapers while forcing in some modern design elements. It looks like something from a bad 80's sci-fi movie, not much innovation or aesthetic balance at all.

Right.
But it does all that without vulgarity.
The sheathing may also make all the difference...

Shanghai Tower is an amorphous blob distinguished by size alone. Pingan has magic.

They can be liked for different reasons.

I like the Pingan because, to me anyway, it has a touch of early to mid-20th century spire-style architecture.

But I like the Shanghai Tower because it is so contemporary and postmodern.

hahahaha, is this a joke!

a GOLD tower that looks like it came out of the 70's? at least I won't be the one who has to look at it every morning.

I declare this building as...... FUGLY!

Powerful, ambitious, awe-inspiring...i'd like a model of it for the hood of my car.

In the ethos of this design, it reminds me of this one in some ways:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...1159441515.jpg

OK, maybe not quite that bad, but three quarters of the way there.

On the other hand, there seems to be a realistic chance that the design will be totally revamped, crossing fingers.

I can't speak from experience (born in the '80s), but I've never seen anything from the '70s that looks remotely like that. All the big '70s buildings I've seen are boxy concrete Brutalist slabs, maybe with some Earth tone coloring making it look dirty and sickly. Actual shiny golden, linear steel things? None that I've seen.

It would be a shame if this wasn't built, if it is it will be hands down my favorite skyscraper in the world, period. A previous poster was right, this is the best skyscraper in China.

Gold... 1800+ feet... 1970's style...

It's the closest thing we'll ever get to the tower in Towering Inferno -complete with the promenade/observatory room on the top floor!

I think its great, and I hope it get's built! :tup:

this one is really beautiful! let's hope the renders don't lie too much.

The gold "Glass Tower" from The Towering Inferno...
http://www.thetoweringinferno.info/p.../towerpic3.jpg

http://www.thetoweringinferno.info/p...oardInBlue.jpg

http://www.thetoweringinferno.info/p...Model-scan.jpg

The original gold spire design is sick!! I love the proportionality, the symmetry, the classic shape. Its very commanding. As someone else said it reminds me of a modern interpretation of a classic New York or Chicago skyscraper. It looks like a 1940's envisioning of what the future would look like, complete with zeppelin airships flying around it. The more I look at it the more I like it!

alright, the thread title says 588m (roof height?), SSC says 648m and CTBUH 660m! so, which one is it? :shrug:

:previous: Hunser, likely it's 660m, but the project appears to be on-hold or very very slow. Bad news :(

Ping An Insurance has some problems: http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-...29-707183.html

Recent shot, the main tower site is at right (no workers, no activity!):

http://pic.qnpic.com:83/r.jsp?fn=//f...4/100_3264.jpg

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=517647&page=79

This is a tower that deserves to be built. So many less worthy projects are continuing, but this one ends up on the path of Chicago Spire. Sigh. :(

unfortunately im beginning to doubt that this thing will ever be built.

Dude, this is China, not Dubai.

So what? Neither has a very bright future.

True though one has to realize that this enormous property bubble that China has been experiencing is bound to pop and leave them in a situation that is similar to Dubai's. Lately i haven't seen as much construction activity in China as there was a year or 2 ago. Perhaps the higher up Chinese officials are realizing the error in overbuilding rather than satisfying market demand. i will say that with Beijing's stimulus package in 2009 acted as a patch on the bubble that got many projects completed and moving though now 2 years later China may not want to take Dubai's path of overbuilding and eminent economic disaster. Now China seems to be on a steady pace of growth rather than a huge wave of growth in the construction sector.These super projects may be all far fetched ideas in a few years,maybe China's "1930's" period is over.

Have you guys totally forgotten about this, missing that it is now U/C?

They are digging these piles by hand:

http://pic.qnpic.com:83/r.jsp?fn=//f...-547d-540d.jpg
http://pic.qnpic.com:83/r.jsp?fn=//f...-518d-6b21.jpg

And Troubador, is there a rendering or conception of the whole Megaman 2 tower that assumes what the other half should look likej?

Not to get OT, but the Megaman 2 tower probably isn't that interesting - it looks like a plain residential highrise, naturally on the Japanese model. The game intro only goes up 16 stories, though it's not clear how high up it begins. I'll make a new thread to show the building as best as my skill with Cut & Paste in MS Paint will allow. :D (Update: Okay, I've finished it - the thread is posted in the Skyscraper & Urban Art folder)

Anyway, back to the topic, Pingan has the potential to be the greatest project currently under construction anywhere - if they can just get going on it, and make the right decisions about exterior materials. This is a design that makes no compromises, which is a very rare and precious thing. The city of Shenzhen has an opportunity to truly add something remarkable to the world, if its financiers stay solvent, its designers don't get timid, and its builders don't get cheap.

From what I know 588m is roof height and 648m is pinnacle height.

And yeah, it looks like as if it would suffer the same fate as the Chicago Spire did.

Latest updates show some unexpected color.
http://pic.qnpic.com:83/r.jsp?fn=//f...7/IMG_0641.jpg

hey the Chicago Spire site got umbrellas,yippe!

And there are now 4 more mini excavations:
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpo...postcount=1754

An embarassing excavations. This work appears so unprofessional that it will likely fill with water and become new lagoon for the city...

Welcome to the real story of Chinese construction. And I had such high hopes for this one.

I think that this tower, if built, has the potential to become truly iconic for China. IMHO, it's the best supertall design U/C on the planet right now.

http://pic.qnpic.com:83/r.jsp?fn=//f...979345_002.jpg

http://pic.qnpic.com:83/r.jsp?fn=//f...979345_011.jpg
Ryen

It occurs to me that the way the caisson casings were assembled with lots of individual rings should give the pile a very good grip on the subsoil, like a ring shank nail in wood.

http://img2081.poco.cn/mypoco/myphot...242415_017.jpg
gjhhose

The caissons are being poured now.

http://img2081.poco.cn/mypoco/myphot...455885_066.jpg

http://img2081.poco.cn/mypoco/myphot...455885_067.jpg

http://img2081.poco.cn/mypoco/myphot...455885_069.jpg

http://img2081.poco.cn/mypoco/myphot...455885_070.jpg

http://img2081.poco.cn/mypoco/myphot...455885_074.jpg

http://img2081.poco.cn/mypoco/myphot...455885_076.jpg

http://img2081.poco.cn/mypoco/myphot...319447_002.jpg
by 校长 2010-07-24