high rise:1 11.06.09

city form: architecture

 
The Shanghai World Financial Center is the tallest building in China and the second tallest building in the world (Taipei 101 is first, though something in Dubai may now have surpassed it). Completed in 2008, SWFC was designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox for the Japanese developer Mori Building Co. Regarded as a first-rate example of skyscraper typology and technology, the distinctive aperture at the summit reduces wind load and also serves as an observation deck, with glass floors that provide dizzying views of Pudong below from 100 stories up. The ride to the top is a quasi-futuristic adventure choreographed by sleek gray-suited attendants, sound and light effects, and some serious ear-popping and equilibrium management.http://www.swfc-shanghai.com/dubai.htmlhttp://www.kpf.com/main.asphttp://www.mori.co.jp/en/http://skyscraperpage.com/cities/?buildingID=7609shapeimage_5_link_0shapeimage_5_link_1shapeimage_5_link_2shapeimage_5_link_3shapeimage_5_link_4