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Shanghai Tower was never going to be an ordinary skyscraper. Commissioned by the Chinese government, it was to be a soaring statement about the city and country's growing economic prominence. It would be the tallest building in the nation and the second tallest on the planet. As the third in a trio of supertall structures in Shanghai's financial district, it needed to complement its predecessors while looming over them. It had to be iconic, a model of sustainability, and a futuristic answer to the country's rapid urbanization-a vertical city.

In order to satisfy these lofty and varied requirements, Gensler's Jun Xia, the project's lead designer, knew "the design had to be simple." He and his team settled on a single unifying idea: an elegant spiral stretching skyward. The estimated $2 billion–plus tower, which opens next year, is a marvel of design and engineering-not to mention vegetation......Continue Reading

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