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Shang-Highed: On Top of the World's Tallest Observatoryfrom Gizmodo: Top by Elaine Chow
It'san unfortunately foggy morning in Shanghai, but from where I am, thecrappy weather only adds to the feeling of standing in the middle ofclouds. I'm towering almost half a kilometer over the rest of the city,on the highest man-made observation deck in the world, the 100th floorof the Shanghai World Financial Center, which opened just two monthsago. With cumulus on my right, stratus on my left and a mirroredceiling reflecting their formations back at me—I feel myself gettingdizzy. Have I developed a fear of heights, or is vertigo inevitablewhen you're this far up?
The Shanghai World Financial Center,also known as The Mori Building, officially opened on August 28th thisyear after over a decade of planning. When it was first envisioned—by aJapanese construction company, The Mori Group—it was to reach 97 floorstall, surpassing the spires of the Petronas Towers in Malaysia. Butconstruction only got as far as the foundations during the late 1990s,sliding to a halt when the Asian financial crisis hit and the MoriGroup found itself juggling a massive fund shortage.
By the timeit began building again in 2003, Taiwan had already started on Taipei101 which—at 508 meters counting its ridiculously tall spire—would soonwrestle away the title of World's Tallest Building. The Mori Groupscrambled to change their plans, but since the foundations put in fiveyears ago were only made to support 460 meters, the most they could addwas four more floors, settling for second place, but with an asterisk:The building has the highest observation point in the world.
Theobservatory for the SWFC has its own entrance, located on the groundlevel and to the side of the actual skyscraper. For 150 yuan ($22), youget a ticket to see the 94th floor Sky Arena, the 97th floor Sky Walk,and Floor 100, that record-breaking vantage point. For those with asense of frugality, or perhaps lacking a sense of adventure, eschewingthe top two levels cuts 50 yuan from the entrance fee.
Afterpaying for the ticket, I was ushered into a room labeled "Pre-Show."The several of us there that morning proceeded to stand around a towerto watch a “light show.” I raised my eyebrow as various Pokemon-likecharacters—flying teardrops and spinning cherries, all with HelloKitty-esque expressionless faces—flitted across a spinning, glowingreplica of the building to a soundtrack of ambient electronica in thestyle of Brian Eno.
My brochure told me it was designed byartist Toshio Iwai, perhaps better known in the West for his work onElectroplankton, a Nintendo DS that featured similarly plink-plonkyelectronic music. The revelation that Iwai had been behind the showwasn't surprising; it had reminded me of the types of multimediaexhibits I'd seen in Tokyo featuring him.
How culturallyJapanese the entrance had been was especially attention-catchingconsidering the slightly tumultuous history of the Mori Building, aJapanese building in China. The empty trapezoidal area up top, whichmakes the building look like a giant bottle opener, was originallysupposed to be in the shape of a circle, symbolizing—at least to thearchitect—the Oriental myth of the square earth and circular sky.
Butseveral prominent members of the Chinese politico including Shanghai'smayor protested that the design looked too much like the Rising Sun ofthe Japanese flag. In a country still sensitive over Japaneseoccupation during World War II (and Japan's at times unapologeticattitude towards the war), it was too much of an affront for thetallest building in China's richest city to represent anything remotelyNipponese. The building's architects dutifully redid the top, claimingthat the new design saved money.
After the pre-show, we wereherded towards the observatory's first elevator. A panel on one sidedepicted the floor we were on and the height we were at. As the doorsclosed, another light show played out on four screens and the ceiling,complete with yet another atmospheric ambient tune. The elevatorcontinued upwards, and the music sped up to match our trajectory. Myears popped. It took a good minute before the lift finally slid to ahalt and the doors opened to reveal the walkway to the Sky Arena.
Sky Arena? More like Sky Lounge to me
Thefirst of the building's three observatories, the Sky Arena is less likea viewing platform and more like one of those mod mid-century airportlounges. There were high ceilings and spectacular views, but the whitecouches and standing-height tables were constant reminders that thiswas, at its heart, for tourists. A bar at one end served refreshmentswhile a long booth area in the middle sold various Mori Buildingmemorabilia. Ever wanted your nougats to come in a can-opener-shapedskyscraper package? You know where to get 'em now!
Dude, just put it down... it's not worth it.
I quickly bypassed the area and got on the escalator to the 97th floor,the second viewing point. This area was more plain than the first one,a long walkway painted in white. Perhaps thanks to our closer proximityto the sun, it was unbearably bright. Glancing up through glass, Icould see my final destination—Skywalk 100, at 474 meters high, theworld-record-holding observation deck.
It took one last elevatorto bring me up those three final levels. This time, as I stepped out ofthe elevator and into the walkway, it was hard not to gasp.
Unlikethe matted white of the lower level, the designers had decked Floor 100out in a mirror-like finish, so that everywhere you looked, some partof the skyline was reflected back at you. From here you could see thetwo other Shanghai giants, the 468-meter Oriental Pearl Tower and the421-meter Jin Mao Tower, looking like absolute dwarfs, little childrenreaching upwards in a futile attempt to compete with the grand daddy ofvertical climbing.
The 100th floor viewing deck
Onthe ground were one-square-meter transparent glass panels, someoffering an unobstructed view of the drop below. Standing over one andlooking down, I could see the tourists down on 97, dashing from windowto window. Sometimes their faces would point upwards, as they squintedinto the sun and tried to make out the outlines of my feet.
It was about then that I felt my legs wobble and my knees shake.Vertigo was kind of a new experience for me. Having grown up in Asia'smegacities, I'd spent virtually all my life peering out of skyscrapers.I've never had a problem standing on edges and staring downthousand-foot falls—but this was a whole new monster. Despite myrabidly anti-Luddite stance (hell, I work for a technology blog!), apart of me wondered if man was ever meant to stand this far up in thesky.
I also wondered if part of my sudden bout oflightheadedness could be attributed to the subtle vibrations of thewind whistling around the walkway. The Mori Building was allegedlydesigned with Japanese earthquake protections in mind, making itoverspecced for an area like Shanghai that hasn't felt tremors for overa century. Wind—honking gusts of typhoon-powered wind—can still be aproblem, especially at these heights.
To try and counteractswaying, the building has two mass dampers installed on the 90th floor.Each damper consists of a computer controlled, 150-ton counterweightsuspended by wire rope. By rotating with and against the wind, thedampers can reduce wind effects by 40 percent and avoid oscillatingeven during typhoon conditions.
AnLCD screen near the elevator assured me that the transparent glass Istood on was safe. Each panel could withstand the weight of three 176pound people jumping on it at the same time, no problem. It wasn't thatreassuring; I know quite a few people who weigh a little more thanthat. But they weren't there, and I was definitely within limits... sotimidly, I tried a little hop. The person next to me screamed. It wasgood to know I wasn't the only one feeling nervous.
Onmy way back down in the elevator (complete, once again, with the lightshow and Eno-esque music), it was strange reflecting on how I'd justbeen standing at the tallest man-made point ever. It's currentlyimpossible to get even close to that high elsewhere. Though the currenttallest building, Taipei 101, may be officially 16 meters taller thanthe SWFC, almost 60 meters of its height is dedicated solely to thespire. Floor 101 is only 439 meters up, a good 34 meters shy of where Ihad just been.
Even though the SWFC tower is barely two monthsold, its observatory's days as the highest observation deck in theworld are ticking speedily to an end. In less than a year, the BurjDubai will open for business. Though nobody right now knows exactlywhere the tallest floor will be, the building is estimated to reach awhopping 818 meters once it's completed.
And even in Shanghai'sown Pudong Area, the Chinese have already started the foundation onsomething bigger. The Shanghai Center, expected to be complete in 2013,will eclipse the Mori Building by another 140 meters. Nicknamed the"Dragon Building," its funding has been relatively untouched by thecurrent economic downswing—some say because the last thing the Chinesegovernment is willing to do is let a Japanese building stand as thetallest in their land.
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发表于 7-11-2008 03:09:17
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