Five Stunning Chinese Building Debuts of 2013

From mega-projects such as the Shanghai Tower to white elephants like Changsha’s Sky City, China’s new building projects have dominated the news this year.

After sifting through 51 weeks of headlines, here are six China building projects that opened in 2013 that I hope you didn’t miss.

New Century Global Centre

Workers wash a few windows

The indoor beach

Shopper’s nirvana

The pointy part of the thing

Later, this will come to life in an action movie

Photo Gallery of the New Century Global Centre

Chengdu

Architect Unknown

This one wins for scale, not for style. The 1,700,000 square metre (18,000,000 sq ft) New Century Global Centre is the world’s biggest building measured by floor space, and includes an indoor artificial beach. (Are there real indoor beaches)? The multipurpose complex incorporates a 1009 room Intercontinental Hotel, a skating rink, swimming pool, and – of course – a shopping centre.

To give you an idea of the size, New Century Global Centre could hold 20 Sydney Opera Houses, or 3 Pentagons.

Sifang Art Museum

Nanjing

Designed by: Steven Holl Architects, David Adjaye, Wang Shu, Liu Jiakun, Ai Weiwei, Mansilla + Tuñón, SANAA and others.

The museum is the centrepiece of a US$164 million art-architecture-resort complex established by real estate developer Lu Jun, 58, and his son, Lu Xun, to promote contemporary art and design in China.

The museum’s Upper Gallery, suspended high in the air, has an outdoor terrace with panoramic views over the valley towards Nanjing. There is also a collection of unique villas designed by 20 award-winning architects including British designer David Adjaye, Pritzker Prize-winning Wang Shu and dissident artist Ai Weiwei.

Terminal 3: Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport

Shenzhen
Designed by Studio Fuksas

As China strives to show world leadership, local governments have poured cash into building airports that compete with the world’s best. The latest entry into the airport derby is Terminal at Shenzhen’s Bao’an International Airport.

The 500,000 square metre (5.4 million sqft) building is part of what is only the fourth largest airport in the country, but what it lacks in size, it makes up for in style. The architects liken the shape of the terminal to a “manta ray,” and the entire structure is wrapped in textured second skin.

Terminal Three extends the airport’s capacity to 45 million passengers per year and makes airport the largest single public building in the city.

Shenzhen Stock Exchange

Shenzhen
Designed by Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA)

Adding to the design achievements in this southern mega-city is this new 46-storey tower that features a three-level podium suspended 36 metres above the ground. The stock exchange is the second completed project in China for Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas, who also designed the CCTV (Big Underpants) building in Beijing.

China Wood Sculpture Museum

Harbin
Designed by MAD

Designed by Beijing-based MAD, led by Ma Yansong and Dan Qun, the Wood Sculpture Museum scores despite its rather arcane mission. The building features a flowing, sculpted exterior clad in polished steel plates that reflect the building’s surroundings and change with the light throughout the day. The 196 metre long building takes inspiration from the local scenery and the snow drifts of northern city’s frigid winters.

Although building may be wrapped in steel, the museum was ostensibly built to house a collection of wood sculptures and paintings depicting ice and snow of the region.

For 2014? Well we will have the completion of the Shanghai Tower to look forward to, and many more new buildings in store. As these structures take shape I’ll be sure to keep you posted here on Mingtiandi.