Tallest Building in S. China Breaks Ground

Tallest Building in S. China Breaks Ground
Updated Sep 27 2009 20:32:26 Beijing Time

http://www.lifeofguangzhou.com/node_10/node_37/node_85/2009/09/28/125410874670038.shtml


Illustration of the Guangzhou East Tower. (Guangzhou Daily)

Guangzhou's new landmark, the East Tower, tallest building in south China starts on construction today in the city's Zhujiang New Town. The tower will be 530 meters high and finished in 2016.

The East Tower will be quadrate while the 432-meter West Tower which was topped off at the end of 2008 is in a round shape. Investor of the East Tower released that, "There won't be competition between the twin towers, for the two projects have a 5-year gap in construction schedule. The East one will be an expansion of the West one." Vice Mayor of Guangzhou Su Zequn remarked that "There will be an underground pedestrian street connecting the East and the West Towers."

The new skyscraper will be a complex of offices, high-end apartments and a five-star hotel.

The East Tower (L) will be quadrate while the 432-meter West Tower (R) which was topped off at the end of 2008 is in a round shape. (Guangzhou Daily)
More about the East Tower:

10,000,000,000: Investment of the East Tower will be over Ten billion RMB;
116: The skyscraper has 116 stories with 113 above floor and 3 under the ground;
530: The tower will be 530 meters high, No. one building in south China area;
2016: The tower will be finished in 2016.

Hermitage signs financing for tower at La Defense
http://www.propertyeu.info/newsletter/default.asp?id=8669

Date: 13 March 2009
Category: Development
Hermitage, the French property arm of Russian group Stroimontage, reached an agreement on Wednesday with an undisclosed pool of banks for the financing of the Hermitage Plaza tower project located at La Défense business district in Paris. A Hermitage spokesperson would not reveal the amount of the financing, but the development of the scheme will involve an investment of over EUR 2 bn.

The Norman Foster-designed project was unveiled during a ceremony at Mipim on Wednesday. At 323 metres, Hermitage Plaza will be one metre taller than the Eiffel Tower, making it the highest multi-purpose building ever built in Western Europe. Hermitage said the tower aims to become the first European property with a BREEAM excellent certification.

The development will comprise two towers: the first will have 91 floors and house a five-star hotel, a spa and luxury apartments, while the second will have 93 floors and accommodate offices and serviced apartments. Construction work is expected to start in 2010, with completion due for 2014.
Hermitage Plaza (Different completion dates ??)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermitage_Plaza

It is scheduled to start by 2010 and to be completed by 2016. This is close but Hermitage SAS claims to have secured the financing from its previous design.

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x8nhog_tours-hermitage-plaza_news

The Tokyo Sky Tree will appear in the Narihirabashi/Oshiage area of Sumida Ward, Tokyo in 2011. Boasting a height of about 610m, the tower will be one of the world's tallest.

Digital Terrestrial Broadcasting and the Role of the New Tower

In July 2011, the current analog broadcasting will end and a complete transition made to digital broadcasting.
Five commercial stations and NHK took this as a turning point to advance preparations towards digital broadcasting from a TV tower with a height of around 600m and decided on the Sumida/Taito area as the site for construction of the tower. In addition, for "one-segment broadcasting (one-seg)," a digital broadcasting service for mobile devices that was launched in April 2006, it is ideal to have transmissions from a height that is not very vulnerable to the forest of super high-rise buildings that stand at heights of around 200m in downtown Tokyo. Expectations are also on the tower to serve the role of a tower equipped with disaster prevention features.

Birth of a Town with a Tower

At the foot of the new tower will be a "town with a tower" spans about 400m from east to west, connecting Oshiage Station and Narihirabashi Station, and encompassing an area of about 3.69ha. A networking plaza leading from Oshiage Station to the tower lobby on level four of the facility, three plazas in front of the station and along Kitajukken River, and Shinsui Park will form a community environment where visitors and nearby residents will gather.

Location

Located about 1km east of Asakusa - a town filled with the atmosphere of a shitamachi (the traditional name for the area of Tokyo that extends from Taito, Chiyoda and Chuo Wards east of the Sumida River where many merchants, craftsmen, etc. reside) - and about 2km northeast of Ryogoku - a town famous for sumo wrestling. The new tower stands in a major traditional international tourism zone of Japan.

Development Schedule

Fiscal 2006: Basic design
Fiscal 2007~8: Execution design
July 2008: Start of construction
December 2011: (Scheduled) Construction completion
Spring 2012: (Scheduled) Grand opening

Official Website:
http://www.tokyo-skytree.jp/english/

World Trade Center
http://www.wtc.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1_World_Trade_Center

1 World Trade Center, also known by its nickname and former name Freedom Tower,[3] is the main building of the new World Trade Center under construction in Lower Manhattan in New York City, USA.[4] The tower will be located in the northwest corner of the 16-acre (65,000 m²) World Trade Center site, bound by Vesey, West, Washington and Fulton streets.[5] Construction on below-ground utility relocations, footings, and foundations for the 1,776-foot (541 m)[6][7] building began on April 27, 2006.[8] On December 19, 2006, the first steel columns were installed in the building's foundation. Three other high-rise office buildings are planned for the site along Greenwich Street, and they will surround the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, which is under construction. The area will also be home to a museum dedicated to the history of the site. On March 26, 2009, the Port Authority said that the building will be known as 'One World Trade Center,' replacing its former name 'Freedom Tower.'[3] When completed, 1 World Trade Center will be among the tallest buildings in the world and the tallest in the United States. [9][10]

Estimated completion April 2013 (target)[1]

Tallest Building in China Breaks Ground
Design Completes Super-Tall District, Showcases Sustainable Public Space



Facts

Project Name:
Shanghai Tower

Groundbreaking:
November 29, 2008

Anticipated Completion:
2014
http://www.gensler.com/uploads/documents/pr_081128_Shanghai_Tower_11_24_2008.pdf

Kingkey Finance Tower
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingkey_Finance_Tower

The Kingkey Finance Tower is a supertall skyscraper under construction in Shenzhen, China. The mixed-use building is set to rise 439 metres (1,440 ft) and contain 97 floors for office space and a hotel.[1][4] Out of those 97 floors, 68 contain Class A office space, 22 stories for a six-star business hotel and the top four floors of the skyscraper holds a garden and several restaurants.

te]Opening 2010[2]

great posts ian..a phallus coming to a town near you soon !

Ritz Carlton and Limestone House at DIFC delayed
http://www.business24-7.ae/Articles/2009/6/Pages/15062009/06162009_79767dde1ee346fab28d334367455390.aspx

The expected completion date of Limestone House is now revised to the end of 2009. (SUPPLIED)

According to Ritz Carlton website, the hotel will have 341 guestrooms and suites including two Ritz-Carlton Suites, 124 serviced apartments, a signature Thai fine-dining restaurant, a French brasserie, a steakhouse and a lobby lounge. According to its website, the hotel will be opening in early 2010.

Burj Khalifa
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burj_Dubai

Burj Khalifa (Arabic: برج خليفة‎ "Khalifa Tower"),[2] formerly known as Burj Dubai, is a skyscraper in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and the tallest man-made structure ever built, at 828 m (2,717 ft).[2] Construction began on 21 September 2004, with the exterior of the structure completed on 1 October 2009. The building officially opened on 4 January 2010.[1][9] The building is part of the 2 km2 (490-acre) flagship development called Downtown Burj Khalifa at the "First Interchange" along Sheikh Zayed Road, near Dubai's main business district.

Location Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Status Complete
Groundbreaking January 2004
Constructed 2004-2010
Opening 4 January 2010[1]

Dark side of cheap labor...

Saudi hotel to snatch world's tallest title in Q3
by Shane McGinleyThis email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it on Thursday, 14 January 2010

CLOCK WATCHING: An artist's impression of the clock at Fairmont's Clock Tower Hotel in Makkah.

Rotana’s newly opened 333 metre tall Rose Rayhaan in Dubai will lose its title as the world’s tallest hotel later this year when the Fairmont Hotels and Resorts group opens the Makkah Clock Royal Tower in Makkah.

The Makkah Clock Royal Tower is scheduled to open in the third quarter of 2010 and will be 76 storeys and 577 metres high, the Fairmont Hotels and Resorts said this week.

The tower, which is being developed by the Saudi Bin Laden Group, will also house the Emaar Residences.

Abraj Al Bait Towers
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraj_Al_Bait_Towers

Location Mecca, Saudi Arabia
Status Under construction
Groundbreaking 2004
Estimated completion 2011

The Abraj Al-Bait Towers also known as the "Mecca Royal Clock Hotel Tower" is a complex under construction in Mecca, Saudi Arabia by the Saudi Binladin Group. Upon completion, the tallest tower in the complex would stand as the tallest building in Saudi Arabia, tallest and largest hotel in the world, with a planned height of 595 m (1,950 ft). Upon completion, the structure would have the largest floor area of any structure in the world with 1,500,000 square metres (16,137,600 sq ft) of floorspace. This is the same as Terminal 3 at Dubai International Airport, in the United Arab Emirates which is the current record holder. It will also surpass the Burj al Arab in Dubai as the world's tallest hotel. It is also the second tallest building under construction. The entire project is estimated to be completed in 2011.