Shanghai Tower

ARTIST RESIDENCY CHINA — SHANGHAI, no. 35

Three days after arrival, following an unexpected bus trip to Hangzhou, I was finally able to enter Shanghai. My colleague Wang assigned a new chaperone to me from his student pool. Mr Li’s daughter Jaiyi met me at my hotel where we coordinated our plan for the day: her list, my list, and Wang’s list. First on his list was the Museum of Contemporary Art, located in The People’s Park, a short walk from the hotel. At the top of my list was Shanghai Tower, documented in a PBS series called Super Skyscrapers: The Vertical City. Concerned about incurring the potential wrath of Professor Wang if we did not fulfill his instructions, we began at the museum then cabbed it to the tower.

Echos — Sculpture by Oliviero Rainaldi, Museum of Contemporary Art

Oliviero Rainaldi, ink on paper, Museum of Contemporary Art

Shanghai Tower, second tallest building in the world, tallest in China, designed by the firm Gensler with architect Jun Xia

base of Shanghai Tower, interior under construction, scheduled to open in 2016

Shanghai Tower (right) had not opened at the time of our visit. However, it’s neighbor the Shanghai World Financial Center at 494m has the highest observatory in the world on the floor above the open slot. The new tower is designed with a double skin, evident in the photograph: core main floors are deeply recessed from the surrounding glass facade, creating gaps that will contain huge atriums. Jin Mao Tower (left).