Guangzhou TV & Sightseeing Tower

Guangzhou TV & Sightseeing Tower (also called 广州电视观光塔) is a tower currently under construction near Chigang Pagoda, Haizhu District, Guangzhou, China. It was topped-out in 2009 and will be completed in 2010 in order to be fully operational for the 2010 Asian Games.

History

The TV & Sightseeing Tower is the first significant XL project designed by the Dutch architects Mark Hemel and Barbara Kuit. Their company, Information Based Architecture, is based in Amsterdam. The practice collaborated with Arup, the global design and business consulting firm headquartered in London, UK. The design was awarded first prize in a competition that was also joined by, among others, Coop Himmelblau, Richard Rogers Partnership, Cannon and KPF. In 2004 the IBA - Arup team in Amsterdam developed the concept design. In later stages IBA cooperated mainly with the local Chinese offices of Arup and a Local Design Institute. The tower is due to be completed in 2010. It is called Canton Tower.

Design

The form, volume and hyperboloid structure are generated by two ellipses, one at foundation level and the other at an imaginary horizontal plane just above 450 metres. The tightening caused by the rotation between the two ellipses forms the characterizing "waistline" of the tower, and a densification of material. This means that the lattice structure, which at the bottom of the tower is porous and spacious, becomes denser at waist level. The waist itself is tightened, like a twisted rope; further up the tower the lattice opens again, accentuated here by the tapering of the structural column-tubes.

The waist of the tower contains a 180-metre long open-air skywalk where visitors can physically climb the tower. There are outdoor gardens set within the structure, and at the top, just above 450 metres, a large open-air observation deck.

The interior of the tower will be subdivided into programmatic zones with various functions, including TV and radio transmission facilities, observatory decks, revolving restaurants, computer gaming, restaurants, exhibition spaces, conference rooms, shops, and 4D cinemas.

A deck at the base of the tower hides the tower's functional workings. All infrastructural connections – metro and bus stations, and a pedestrian link to the northern embankment of the river – are met underground. This level supports other facilities as well, including a museum, a big food court, extensive commercial space, a 600-vehicle parking area for cars and tourist coaches. The entrance operates on two levels, one a continuation of the landscape above ground, the other connected to the mass-transit and underground-parking facilities. Slow-speed panoramic and enclosed high-speed double-decker lifts serve both entrance levels.

The intermediate zone, from 80 up to 170 metres, consist of facilities including a 4D cinema, a play-hall area, restaurants, coffee shops and outdoor gardens with teahouses. An open-air staircase, the Skywalk, starts at the height of 170 metres and spirals almost 200 metres higher, all the way through the waist.

The top zone of the tower begins above the stairway, housing various technical functions as well as a two-storey rotating restaurant, a damper and the upper observation levels. From the upper observation levels it is possible to ascend even higher, via a further set of the stairs, to a terraced observation square rising above the tower's top ring.

See also

  • Guangzhou Television
  • Guangzhou TV Tower
  • Hyperboloid structure
  • Adziogol Lighthouse
  • List of towers
  • List of tallest freestanding structures in the world
  • List of Hyperboloid structures
  • IBA
  • Arup

References

External links

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The Ritz-Carlton
22 July 2015
The Canton Tower is the tallest TV tower in the world and the 3rd tallest building in Asia. Many people love to start their day in front of the tower by participating in one of the Tai Chi groups.
Sandeep
14 July 2013
You see the very different view from top of the canton tower in guangzhou its amazing view and fill very different .guangzhou is looking very beautiful from top of the canton tower in the night
^^JaJaJa^^
15 December 2011
Went there at nyt... Great view!!! U can try 2 feelings as on 107th floor feel like clear floor while when u walk up to the next floor, u ll feel like u r in a pub as it's dark decoration there!!great
The Ritz-Carlton
9 August 2016
For an exciting trip, visit the Canton Tower, it has the world’s highest horizontal ferris wheel, the highest outdoor observation deck, and the highest free fall Sky Drop.
JH H-D
24 October 2021
There are two photo opportunities for the glass bottom walkways, one on the Star and the other on the Cloud observation decks
David Ostlund
25 October 2012
A must see. One of the most spectacular towers in the world at night. Well, in the day, too. It's just not lit up then. Highest tower in the world. It's not a building.
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