Ping An Finance Center: Pioneering Megatall – Efficiencies of Form and Structure

Join CTBUH for the New York Chapter event featuring a presentation on the Ping An Finance Center. Upon completion of the Ping An Finance Center in 2016, one of the tallest towers in China and the world will be unveiled. In this day and age, with an increasing number of skyscrapers exceeding 600 meters, we are entering into a new era of megatall buildings. As these buildings become taller and more complex, the urban habitat also calls for more responsible and sustainable design. The design of Ping An Finance Center embraces both challenges. Not only is it an office tower stretching upwards to its logical extreme, but also a “transit-integrated tall building” that will occupy a major transportation node in the increasingly-connected mega-city of Hong Kong/Shenzhen/Guangzhou: home to 120 million people and one-third of China’s trade value. In commissioning KPF and Thornton Tomasetti, the project’s owner requested a tower whose form and structure would symbolize their image and title (“Ping An” is the combination of the Chinese characters for peace and safety), while evoking the “pioneering spirit” of Shenzhen. The client's requirement for an efficient and functional design led to a gradual streamlining of the tower’s shape to improve performance on all fronts. This presentation will discuss how the form of the tower was achieved in terms of the architectural and structural design, and how these processes work in tandem to achieve a design that is not only beautiful, but efficient and sustainable. Featured Speakers: David Malott, CTBUH Chairman/Principal, KPF Dennis Poon, Vice Chairman, Thornton Tomasetti RSVP: To RVSP, please email [email protected] CTBUH