Guangzhou to build world's highest tower

Alternate design I: 588m. An hanging garden is specially designed for the television tower to make it with a "double square'' ¨C with the exception of the green square in the south of the tower base there is a 180 m x 180 m hanging square.

It is learned recently from the construction headquarters of the new Guangzhou Television Center that the design options for the new 580 to 600-meter-high Guangzhou Television Tower, the highest of its kind in the world, have been chosen preliminarily and have been handed over to the Guangzhou municipal government for approval.

It is disclosed that the work of land takeover and demolition has been underway smoothly.

It is expected to start prophase construction in December this year and will be completed in August or September in 2007.

According to Huang Jiatian, deputy director of the office under the construction headquarters of the new Guangzhou Television Center, the three design options have been chosen from 13 entries in the architectural design competition (see pictures attached) through experts' assessment and careful screening, and three rounds of voting.

The competition committee composed of the Guangzhou Construction Committee, the Guangzhou Planning Bureau and the Guangzhou Television Station organizes the competition. They have basically chosen the construction plan. It is not suitable to make it public now, as the plan needs the government's approval.

Alternate design II: 450m. The theme will be "new life in Guangzhou''. Each floor named after geography and meteorology. The tower body will have a narrow waist with an elegant shape. It will turn narrower upwards with a turn in the middle.

It is learned that a land area of 15,400 square meters has been taken over from work units including the law enforcement team of the Guangzhou Environmental Health Bureau, the provincial Cereal Scientific Research Institute, the Guangzhou Zhujiang Qiaodu Real Estate Company Ltd and the Xinhoude Farming, Industrial and Commercial Company. A total of 18,342 square meters of houses needs to be demolished.

According to Huang the municipal avenue-expanding office has signed compensation agreements with all 106 inhabitants belonging to the law enforcement team and drawn up a rebuilding and temporary moving plan.

The demolition work of other work units is underway. The prophase construction work for the tower will start next month.

According to an official responsible for the construction the Guangdong Center for Environmental Radiation Research, Check and Measure will submit an evaluation report on the environmental impact exerted by the new tower in the near future.

The new tower will not surpass the radiation standards stipulated by the State. The construction headquarters will make the data public when the evaluation report is completed.

It is also reported after the completion of the new television tower the original tower will be demolished; and the Guangdong TV Station may also move into the tower. Its old tower may be left as a souvenir or demolished.

Who will be the big winner?

No. 3 Alternate design: by Architecture-Studio, France (Left)

Alternate design III: 509m. 664 meters high if adding the antenna. The golden body will be attracting and the square belt-shaped. Themes classified into gold, wood, water, fire and earth.

No. 4 Alternate design: by ARUP Qualification, Britain (Middle)

No. 11 Alternate design: by Obermeyer Consulting Engineers Ltd., Germany (Right)

Relevant data for the new Guangzhou TV tower

Height: between 580 and 600 meters

Total construction area: some 100,800 square meters

Land for construction: 8,4880 square meters

Land for the square: some 9,4220 square meters

Total investment for the static fixed assets: 1.5 billion yuan or 181 million US dollars

By People's Daily Online