Archinect - News

The Petronas vs. Sears Tower controversy revisited

2019-05-03T14:43:00-04:00

The decision – that the Petronas Towers were indeed the world’s new tallest building(s), measuring 451.9 meters to the tops of their decorative spires – was based on the re-affirmation of a standard the Council had held for some 60 years. The antennae atop Sears Tower, which took it to an ultimate height of 527 meters, did not count toward its “architectural” height, because the antennae were not considered a permanent part of the building. [...] It was not a popular decision in Chicago [...]

Remember when the Southeast Asian nation of Malaysia laid claim to the title of "World’s Tallest Building" in 1996; daring to challenge Sears Tower's crown which had been the incumbent record holder since 1974? The Council for Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, the organization responsible for keeping track of proper building heights, back then determined in a historic announcement that Kuala Lumpur's brand new twin Petronas Towers measured 451.9 meters/1,483 feet from sidewalk to the top of their spires and were indeed the world's new reigning champions.

The CTBUH's decision was not well received in Chicago, to say the least, and a heated debate errupted whether Sears Tower's antennae should have been included in the building height determination to keep the 110-story behemoth at the top and the largely unrivaled sense of American exceptionalism intact. (The champion title has never returned to the United States since then, and Sears Tower, now Willis Tower, is currently ranked at ...

Authorship dispute erupts over Europe's tallest skyscraper in St. Petersburg

2018-08-08T15:57:00-04:00

A row has broken out between former RMJM international group design director Tony Kettle and a Russian architect over who designed Europe’s new tallest building – an 87-storey skyscraper near St Petersburg. Staff at Moscow-based firm Gorproject have accused Scottish practice The Kettle Collective of trying to claim ‘authorship’ over energy giant Gazprom’s mammoth tower, currently nearing completion on the Gulf of Finland.

As Europe's tallest skyscraper nears completion, a dispute has erupted over the authorship of the completed project. The Moscow-based firm Gorproject claims design authorship over the Lakhta Center, while Tony Kettle claims the delivered design is his concept while working at RMJM. Letters on the issue were sent to the RIBA, the RIAS, and the Union of Architects of Russia. A statement from the client, Gazprom, asserts the design was RMJM’s original 2011 concept with Tony Kettle as design director.

New images of world's next tallest tower, Calatrava-designed Dubai Creek Tower

2017-08-18T13:38:00-04:00

Building within the 2.3 square-mile Dubai Creek Harbour complex, Emaar is looking to eclipse its most famous creation the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest structure since 2010. To do so has required laying 236ft deep foundation piles—a world record—set to be capped with 1.59 million cubic feet of concrete. When completed, the 3,045ft tower will best the Burj by a massive 322ft.

The Emaar Properties and Dubai Holdings joint venture is inspired by the lily flower and mosque minarets, say its developers, and will feature a 68-mile array of supporting cables. Swiss-Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava has designed a 360-degree observation deck and a capacious Hanging Gardens of Babylon-style floor into the structure, with views over the nearby Ras Al Khor Wildlife Sanctuary.

With the new tower, the developer is looking to beat the record height of its most famous creation the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest structure since 2010, by 322 feet. Located within the 2.3 square-mile Dubai Creek Harbor complex, the Dubai Creek Tower required the deepest foundation piles ever made—set to be capped with 1.59 million cubic feet of concrete.

Image courtesy of Emaar Properties

An image from Emaar Properties dated August 13 shows workers constructing the pile cap frame on to which 1.59 million cubic feet of concrete will be poured.

Construction stalled on 'world's tallest building', so locals made its foundation into a fish farm

2015-07-14T13:39:00-04:00

work stalled after concerns from regulators over the safety of the skyscraper and its environmental impact and funding. With no progress on the project in sight, villagers nearby have started to raise fish in its 2.6-hectare water-filled foundations [...] One villager started to raise fish in March and has invested over 20,000 yuan in his business. “I raise fish on the construction site. It is not in secret, neither have I ever been stopped”

Construction on the would-be world's tallest building, known as Sky City in Changsha, China, began in 2013, under leadership of Broad Sustainable Building. Sky City made headlines not only for its proposed record-breaking height, but for the speed at which it was to be completed – Broad Sustainable Building promised that using a signature method of pre-fabrication techniques, Sky City would be built in just nine months. Now way past that due date, Sky City's vacant foundations have been repurposed by local villagers as a fish farm.

Broad Sustainable Building, part of The Broad Group, is known for pushing tall, rapidly built structures in China – it previously built a 30-story hotel in 15 days, and "Mini Sky City", a 57-story tower built in 19 days. More about The Broad Group's prefabrication techniques can be found here and here.