SHANGHAI | Shanghai Tower / 上海中心大厦 | 2,073 FT / 632 M | 128 FLOORS

[giallo]

A bunch of photos from today:

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puup by matteroffact, on Flickr[/IMG]



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puwow by matteroffact, on Flickr[/IMG]



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puang by matteroffact, on Flickr[/IMG]



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puwide by matteroffact, on Flickr[/IMG]



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pupane by matteroffact, on Flickr[/IMG]



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puscale by matteroffact, on Flickr[/IMG]



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puview by matteroffact, on Flickr[/IMG]



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puangle by matteroffact, on Flickr[/IMG]



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pucanyon by matteroffact, on Flickr[/IMG]



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publiss by matteroffact, on Flickr[/IMG]

[photoLith]

Those last two look like something from Star Trek, amazing!!

[Design-mind]

Wow a lot of glass has gone up in the past few months. Thanks as always for posting some new photos giallo.

[AusTex]

Originally Posted by photoLith

Those last two look like something from Star Trek, amazing!!

As in Sci-Fi...not real. Those images are chaos to me. I have been there and would not want to see that every day. How one building relates to the whole has not been considered. Skylines are just like a private house...if some design element is consistent through out the exterior of a house, then the whole looks nice. If the design is a bunch of odd and different design elements then the house looks...?

This current rush to build in Asia (UAE included) seems to me to be a rush to status and profit, rather than a considered advancement of the community for the long term.

[photoLith]

I never said the urban planning and human scale in pudong is good, in fact it's horrendous but still that shot looks like something from the future.

[AusTex]

Originally Posted by photoLith

I never said the urban planning and human scale in pudong is good, in fact it's horrendous but still that shot looks like something from the future.

Agreed. Very futuristic...the photos are very much a window into the future. I'm not really liking it that much. When I have seen "future visions" in the past, most are very shocking. Those REAL photos are shocking too.

My walk through that area was a feeling of barren, expanses of pavement. The area felt devoid of a connection to the human being, or the human scale. I was there in February and felt oppressed...how the area feels in the humid summer I can only imagine.

Individually many of the buildings look great. The collection of buildings and planning of the area left me with a strong desire to flee from the area.

[plinko]

Andrew, what's the elevated structure in front of the Jin Mao in this picture? Is it a train line? An extension of the Maglev?

[r18tdi]

Fantastic video showed up today under vimeo staff picks.

By Rob Whitworth:
https://vimeo.com/63635193

Video Link

Edit: Over one month old, hope it's not a repost

[The Chemist]

Originally Posted by plinko

Andrew, what's the elevated structure in front of the Jin Mao in this picture? Is it a train line? An extension of the Maglev?

It's an elevated pedestrian walkway connecting to all the major attractions in Lujiazui (Oriental Pearl/Aquarium, Superbrand Mall, IFC Mall, Lujiazui Central Green, Jin Mao, SWFC, Shanghai Tower) and the Lujiazui Metro station. They're basically grade separating pedestrians from traffic, and it looks like they're going to widen Century Avenue (the main artery connecting Lujiazui to Puxi via tunnel) after they're finished. It's not an ideal situation, but there's a lot of pedestrian traffic AND a lot of vehicular traffic in this area, so it's probably not the worst idea either.

[FrancoRey]

Originally Posted by The Chemist

It's an elevated pedestrian walkway connecting to all the major attractions in Lujiazui (Oriental Pearl/Aquarium, Superbrand Mall, IFC Mall, Lujiazui Central Green, Jin Mao, SWFC, Shanghai Tower) and the Lujiazui Metro station. They're basically grade separating pedestrians from traffic, and it looks like they're going to widen Century Avenue (the main artery connecting Lujiazui to Puxi via tunnel) after they're finished. It's not an ideal situation, but there's a lot of pedestrian traffic AND a lot of vehicular traffic in this area, so it's probably not the worst idea either.

+1

I love the buildings in Pudong. They are amazing. But if Shanghai was gunning to make Pudong an Asian Manhattan, all they ended up doing was making a glorified, supertall business park. I despise the integration of peds and structures in that area. I don't even like going there because aside from the tall buildings, there is absolutely NOTHING worth doing. Walking is a nightmare and woefully unpleasant compared to other city areas.

I'll stick to Puxi or Hong Kong if I want an dense, Asian urban experience a-la previously stated 'Manhattan'.

[The Chemist]

Originally Posted by FrancoRey

+1

I love the buildings in Pudong. They are amazing. But if Shanghai was gunning to make Pudong an Asian Manhattan, all they ended up doing was making a glorified, supertall business park. I despise the integration of peds and structures in that area. I don't even like going there because aside from the tall buildings, there is absolutely NOTHING worth doing. Walking is a nightmare and woefully unpleasant compared to other city areas.

I'll stick to Puxi or Hong Kong if I want an dense, Asian urban experience a-la previously stated 'Manhattan'.

It's certainly far more like La Defense or Canary Wharf than it is like Manhattan, that's for sure. But if you want good walkable urbanity, all you have to do is cross the river, so as far as I'm concerned it's not a big deal.

[Duck From NY]

Originally Posted by giallo

A bunch of photos from today:

[IMG]
puup by matteroffact, on Flickr[/IMG]

You guys still having doubts about this fantastic glass?

[The Chemist]

Originally Posted by Duck From NY

You guys still having doubts about this fantastic glass?

I don't know how anybody could dislike anything about this tower, especially the glass. And if anything it looks even better in person. Can't wait to see it finished!

[AusTex]

Originally Posted by FrancoRey

+1

I love the buildings in Pudong. They are amazing. But if Shanghai was gunning to make Pudong an Asian Manhattan, all they ended up doing was making a glorified, supertall business park. I despise the integration of peds and structures in that area. I don't even like going there because aside from the tall buildings, there is absolutely NOTHING worth doing. Walking is a nightmare and woefully unpleasant compared to other city areas.

I'll stick to Puxi or Hong Kong if I want an dense, Asian urban experience a-la previously stated 'Manhattan'.

I Agree....as I stated earlier.

"...all they ended up doing was making a glorified, supertall business park..." is exactly what my earlier post was expressing. As a pedestrian I just wanted to flee the area. I think the ‘move auto traffic…separate the pedestrian’ planning concept has proven to be a failure. It is counter to how humans, on foot, feel safe and connected to the place they are in.

In Los Angeles the Hotel BonaVenture was finished in 1976 and totally separated the pedestrian from the auto. The hotel and the city have tried for years to make the area around the hotel “pedestrian friendly” however, all attempts have failed. As a 20 year Texan from elsewhere, I understand the ‘provincial’ thinking of not looking to other places to understand how to do something. This area of Shanghai seems to be planned in the 1970’s failed concepts. Why…is a good question.

I will return to Shanghai, however, the destroying of the past as done in the US in the 1960’s and 1970’s will destroy much of what makes Shanghai GREAT.

[MolsonExport]

I did however like the raised pedestrian walkways in pudong, when I visited in 2012. especially the circular one near the oriental pearl tower.

[MolsonExport]

Oh, and incredible photos of an incredible building, and environs.

[Tectonic]

Wow Love this building!

[The Chemist]

Originally Posted by AusTex

I will return to Shanghai, however, the destroying of the past as done in the US in the 1960’s and 1970’s will destroy much of what makes Shanghai GREAT.

Hyperbole. The fact that Lujiazui isn't planned very well and isn't very pedestrian friendly has done nothing to the fact that the vast majority of this city is still extremely pedestrian friendly. Has La Defense ruined Paris? Has Canary Wharf ruined London?

[giallo]

Yeah. We've been over this again and again. Lujiazui is a small, though prolific, district in Shanghai. The rest of the city is as dense and as walkable as you'd expect of a 300+ year old* city with 25 million people. Adding to that, there was nothing there for Lujiazui to destroy, unless you consider a few factories and open fields part of what makes Shanghai great.

I don't like Lujiazui as a pedestrian. I wouldn't like it as a driver either. It's a product of poor planning that the city has dumped millions upon millions of RMB to try, and fix. I don't think you'll find this sort of mistake repeated in the city.

*Technically, there's been people on the banks of the Huangpu river since the 11th century, but, you know, it wasn't until the 18th century that things really started picking up population-wise.

[wayup]

It's a little bit OT but this is the new Battlefield 4 Trailer. Pause the video at 20 seconds and you get a great idea of just how amazing Shanghai's finished skyline will look. And it's amazing.

• Video Link