Guangzhou CTF Finance Centre

Completing the Canton Tower, Guangzhou IFC and CTF trio is a big thing. Its an even bigger thing if that building is the fifth tallest in the world. Here are our five facts:

1. It is twinned with the Guangzhou IFC. The West Tower became operational in 2010 and the East Tower opened two months ago.

2. The CTF part in the name is short for Chow Tai Fook. It is owned by CTF which is a private company engaged in property development, hotels, casinos, transportation, jewellery, port and telecommunications business. 

3. It houses the world's fastest lifts/elevators, which can reach speeds up to a staggering 1,200 per minute which is equivalent to 44.7mph as well as another 93 lifts! This has ultimately made Guangzhou CTF an icon and a huge tourist attraction.

4. The building was originally designed to be built in the exact same shape and size of that of the IFC across the road.

5. The materials chosen to create this masterpiece are rare and were specifically chosen to give it its texture. A series of terra cotta mullions lines the tower's elevations. Its facade is a mixture of this substance and glass that vertically lines the skyscraper.

Stat Attack!!!

Guangzhou CTF Centre

Official name: Guangzhou CTF Centre

Alternative names: The CTF Guangzhou, Chow Tai Fook Centre, East Tower

Country: China

City: Guangzhou
Street Address: Zhujiang East Road
Construction Start: 2010
Completed: 2016
Global Ranking: #5

Continental Ranking: #2

National Ranking: #2

City Ranking: #1

Height: 530m(1,739ft)

Architect: Kohn Pedersen Fox

IFC and CTF on the Pearl River

Bank of China Tower

Settled in the 'city of skyscrapers', the Bank of China may be a veteran when it comes to Super Scrapers but it still looks as good as new. We have a lot to say about this Chinese wonder:

1.  This building is globally renowned for its revolutionary design, yet many people have no clue that it is in fact a bank.....hence the name. Inside there is a grand banking hall and office space.

2. A host of architects were tested to their limits to find an ingenious idea to ensure the skyscraper could survive typhoons, this was before buildings like Taipei 101 and Shanghai World Financial Centre. The designers looked to bamboo shoots as inspiration for strength, growth and prosperity. The design all o helped the building survive storms of all sorts.

3. The building is firmly structured by five steel columns on the corners that support the entire building. Similar to the Guangzhou IFC and the Gherkin, the outer parts consist of a diagrid frame which makes the whole building flexible yet strong.

4. It was destroyed in the 2012 film Battleship :(..... and still remains a feature in lots of other films such as Transformers and Star Trek.

5. The Bank of China Tower and the area around is designed to act as relaxing oasis in the centre of Hong Kong Island. Its water fountains and gardens intend to muffle the sounds from the street and traffic.

6.  A lot of controversy surrounds the ownership of the building. For instance, the sign outside says the Bank of China Tower rather than BOCHK which are the buildings overall owners even though many floors have been leased back to BoC.

Stat Attack!!!

Bank of China Tower

Official name: Bank of China Tower

Alternative names: none :(

Country: China

City: Hong Kong (Victoria City, Hong Kong Island)

Street address: 1 Garden road Central
Construction Start: 1985

Completed:1990

Global Ranking: #30

Continental Ranking: #17

National Ranking: #14

City Ranking: #4

Height: 367m

Architect: I.M Pei & Partners

London Future: The City by 2020: The Madison

Set neatly amongst East London's progressive docklands The Madison is set to become a 53-storey residential giant....


Twinned with its fellow residential Super Scraper, Newfoundland, The Madison looks truly awesome. Its thin hexagonal prism design will rise to 187m! Inhabitants of The Madison will be in for a treat as the luxury flats boast private residents’ club on the 16th floor with lounge bar, gym, meeting and screening rooms, as well as a spa and pool area on the lower ground floor. Construction started about two months ago and will take three years to construct until final completion in late 2019. From the top you can see as far as Richmond Hill on the complete opposite side of London and out into the sea! Three years is a long time to wait but we think it's worth waiting for.

Stat Attack!!!

The Madison

Official name: The Madison

Alternative names: Meridian Gate....(why?..just why?)

Country: UK

City: London

Street Address: Marsh Wall, London Borough of Tower of Hamlets

Construction Start: 2016
Completed: 2019
Global Ranking: ?
Continental Ranking: ?
National Ranking: #14
Height: 187m
Architect: Make

TSS Awards 2016!

To celebrate reaching almost 3500 viewers, 20 different Super Scrapers, reaching half-way in our project of our new project to find our top ten in the future of London by 2020 (check it out by the way: http://thesuperscrapers.blogspot.co.uk/p/united-kingdom.html), and we have made tabs for each different Super-Scraping country (more will be coming soon).... We have been inspired by Emporis's very own skyscraper awards, which are awards annually given to skyscrapers for their height and funky design, so we decided to make our own.... The minimum height is 100m and they have to have been completed over the previous year.

TSS presents........
2016 Annual Super Scraper Awards!

10.  Regent Emirates Pearl
9. Wenzhou Zhixin Plaza
8. Gama Tower
7. Tanjong Pagar Centre
6. 30 Park Place
5. Tianjin Modern City Office Tower........ ( I know right, where's the creativity)
4. Shenzhen CFC Changfu Centre
3. Eton Place Dalian Tower 1
2. MahaNakhon

And first is....
1. Guangzhou CTF Finance Centre

And as always we have to give credit to any other skyscraper for their weird and wonderful designs:

Memorable Mentions:
1.  Wanda Plaza 1
2.  Wanda Plaza 2
3. Central Bank of Kuwait
4. Banyan Tree Signatures...........(That's more like it!)
5. ASE Centre R3

 Thank you for the likes and views wherever you may be. It's amazing! Stay cool, stay tuned and keep Super-Scraping!

Guangzhou IFC

Guangzhou IFC serves as a favourite icon in China's third largest city. It surprisingly does not bare a spire unlike buildings of a similar height. This just shows that it is its sheer height and design that makes it one of the tallest buildings of the world.

1. The skyscraper was originally named Guangzhou West Tower and was related to Guangzhou East Tower. As time went on, West Tower came to become Guangzhou IFC. Whereas East Tower grew to become renamed Chow Tai Fook Centre, also known as Guangzhou CTF which is due to be completed early next year and will rival against IFC and the Canton Tower.

2. It is the tallest diagram structure in the world. A diagrid structure is a structure made of interlocking steel bars that are strong, make a cool pattern, are flexible and can withstand internal explosions. A bit like the famous 'Gherkin'.

3.  Weirdly its widest point is one third of the way up the building yet it is this ingenious design that allows Guangzhou IFC to have its triangular facade, front face of the building and give it a triangular, irregular and almost alien-looking shape.

4. The building, like most others nowadays are massively eco-friendly. An example of this would be barely any lights are used in the atrium (main room) on the top floor, as it is supplied by a natural source of sunlight from the glass roof.

5.  The building is a multi-use building and consists of a: hotel on the top floors, office space in the middle, lobby at the bottom and right at the top there is an observation deck which boasts views of all around the city and of cause the awesome Canton Tower.

Stat Attack:

Guangzhou CTF

Official name: Guangzhou International Finance Centre

Alternative names: Guangzhou IFC, West Tower

Country: People's Republic of China

Street Address: 5 Zhuijang Avenue West

Construction Started: 2006

Completed: 2010

Global Ranking: #12

Continental Ranking: #8

National Ranking: #6

City Ranking: #1

Height: 439m (1,439ft)

 Architect: WilkinsonEyre

KK100

Like in our previous post, the Zifeng Tower, KK100 had just made it the top ten and was officially knocked off when the famous Shanghai Tower was completed almost a year ago. We wanted, as caring and kind skyscraper supporters, to pay tribute to the Super Scraper:

1.  This supertall Shenzhen-sation is instrumental in the famously gorgeous skyline of the Far East. With it's beautiful façade and its distinctive shape, in draws in thousands of tourists in day by day.

2.  These tourists are privileged to stay in its hotels and shop in its luxury malls, which even houses Shenzhen's first ever IMAX cinema!

3.  Surprisingly, this building is the tallest ever skyscraper to be built by a British architect.

4. With height-width ratio of 9:5:1, making one of the slimmest skyscrapers in China and even the World.

5. It came fourth in the world-famous Emporis skyscraper award in 2011... Side note: Keep a lookout for one of our upcoming posts of our own TSS Skyscraper Award inspired by the Emporis originals...

Stat Attack!

KK100

Official name: KK100

Alternative names: KK100 Development, Kingkey 100, Kingkey Finance Center Plaza, Kingkey Finance Tower

Country: People's Republic of China

Street Address: 5016 Shennan East Road

Construction Started: 2007

Completed: 2011

Global Ranking: #11

Continental Ranking: #8

National Ranking: #5

City Ranking: #1

Height: 183m (600ft)

Architect: TFP Farrells

Zifeng Tower

You may remember from our video back last year, the Zifeng Tower was eight on the list. Now though, its ninth due to the completion of the Shanghai Tower and with the help of its Chinese cousins: Ping An Finance Centre, Guangzhou CTF Centre, Changsha IFS Tower and its fellow Korean skyscraper: Lotte World Tower (all on top ten by next year) Zifeng Tower, Willis Tower, KK100 and the Petronas Towers will all be knocked off the top 10 list. However, let's make the most of this unknown structure whilst it still shines in glory....

1.  Officially the Nanjing Greenland Financial centre, this relatively unknown Oriental masterpiece was designed by large firm Skidmore Owings & Merrill.

2. Completed in 2010, like most tall, successful skyscrapers, it has a hotel near the top (Intercontinental, in Zifeng's case).

3.  The building is the tallest in Nanjing and in its province and luckily for it will hold that name for a good amount of years to come.

4. The building is made up of 'parcels', which make the building get its funky-looking shape. It is designed purposely as an icon in the city's skyline and is much-loved by the citizens there.

5. The Zifeng Tower is probably best known for its awards it has received in the past six years of shining in glory. For example: the 2012 best International Project Over $150 Million by Structural Engineers Association of Illinois.

Stat Attack:

Zifeng Tower

Official name: Nanjing Greenland Financial Centre

Alternative Names: Zifeng Tower

Country: People's Republic of China

Street Address: 9 Zhonyang Road, Gulou District

Construction Started: 2006

Completed: 2010

Global Ranking: #9

Asia: #6

National Ranking:#3

City Ranking:#1

Architect: Skidmore, Owings and Merrill

Height: 450m (1,476ft)