Ground will be broken on Tuesday, May 15, 2012 for Skidmore Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM)’s newest supertall building. The 96-story-tall CTF Tianjin Tower uses undulating curves to subtly express its three programmatic elements while presenting a monolithic expression on the TEDA district skyline outside Tianjin, China. The 1,740-feet (530-meter) tall tower houses offices, 300 service apartments and a 350-room, 5-star hotel beneath an arched top.
The gently curving glass skin conceals eight sloping columns that lie behind the primary bends of the elevation. Integral to resolving gravity and lateral loads, these sloping columns increase the structure’s stiffness in response to seismic concerns. Strategically placed, multi-story wind vents combined with the aerodynamic shape of the tower dramatically reduce wind forces by reducing vortex shedding. “The single most important structural parameter of a tall building is the architecture,” says SOM Structural and Civil Engineering Partner William Baker. “The CTF Tianjin Tower will be significantly quieter, with less movement than other tall buildings. We tested 18 schemes in the wind tunnel before finalizing the design.”
The 4.2-million-sf (389,980-square-meters) project has been designed to LEED® gold standards with a high performance envelope, optimized daylighting and landscaped green site areas among its sustainable strategies. If completed today, The CTF Tianjin Tower would only be shorter than the SOM-designed Burj Khalifa in Dubai. +
Related Stories
| Jun 12, 2012
SAC Federal Credit Union selects LEO A DALY to design corporate headquarters
LEO A DALY also provided site selection, programming and master planning services for the project over the past year.
| Jun 12, 2012
Restoration Millwork exterior trim achieves GreenCircle certification
Made from cellular polyvinyl chloride, the full line of Restoration Millwork trim, beadboard and accessories is engineered to look, feel and work like top-grade lumber.
| Jun 12, 2012
Piché joins C.W. Driver as director of business development
Piché will expand upon project opportunities for firm’s Southern California operations.
| Jun 12, 2012
BCA Architects transforms Anaheim schools into dynamic learning environments
BCA Architects was selected to update the district's long-range master plan.
| Jun 11, 2012
Survey reveals emerging trends in parking
Industry-transforming innovations are changing the way we park.
| Jun 11, 2012
Buro Hapold hires new principal Neil Porto
Porto brings a broad depth of expertise in civil and structural engineering to new and existing projects.
| Jun 11, 2012
Historic church gains energy efficiency, retains aesthetics with architecturally rated windows
New windows would need to not only stand the test of time, but also accommodate the aesthetics of an architecturally historic church.
| Jun 11, 2012
Genivar and WSP Group join forces
Genivar concurrently announces a $225 million public bought deal of subscription receipts, a $197 million private placement of subscription receipts and new credit facilities.
| Jun 11, 2012
SimplexGrinnell highlights integrated suite of web-based technologies at NFPA Expo
eservices platform uses the power of the Internet to deliver more value to customers.
| Jun 11, 2012
Reed Construction announces new hire and promotion
Reed Construction hired Augie Insalaco as a project manager and promoted Matt Mahoney from project intern to project engineer.
