27
Global
Height rank

Guangzhou International Finance Center

Guangzhou
Height
1
To Tip:
Height is measured from the level of the lowest, significant, open-air, pedestrian entrance to the highest point of the building, irrespective of material or function of the highest element (i.e., including antennae, flagpoles, signage and other functional-technical equipment).
438.6 m / 1,439 ft
2
Architectural:
Height is measured from the level of the lowest, significant, open-air, pedestrian entrance to the architectural top of the building, including spires, but not including antennae, signage, flag poles or other functional-technical equipment. This measurement is the most widely utilized and is employed to define the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) rankings of the "World's Tallest Buildings."
438.6 m / 1,439 ft
3
Occupied:
Height is measured from the level of the lowest, significant, open-air, pedestrian entrance to the highest occupied floor within the building.
415.1 m / 1,362 ft
1 2 3 Guangzhou International Finance Center
  Floors
Above Ground
The number of floors above ground should include the ground floor level and be the number of main floors above ground, including any significant mezzanine floors and major mechanical plant floors. Mechanical mezzanines should not be included if they have a significantly smaller floor area than the major floors below. Similarly, mechanical penthouses or plant rooms protruding above the general roof area should not be counted. Note: CTBUH floor counts may differ from published accounts, as it is common in some regions of the world for certain floor levels not to be included (e.g., the level 4, 14, 24, etc. in Hong Kong).
101
Below Ground
The number of floors below ground should include all major floors located below the ground floor level.
4
Height 438.6 m / 1,439 ft
Floors 101
Official Name
The current legal building name.

Guangzhou International Finance Center

Other Names
Other names the building has commonly been known as, including former names, common informal names, local names, etc.

Guangzhou IFC, West Tower

Type
CTBUH collects data on two major types of tall structures: 'Buildings' and 'Telecommunications / Observation Towers.' A 'Building' is a structure where at least 50% of the height is occupied by usable floor area. A 'Telecommunications / Observation Tower' is a structure where less than 50% of the structure's height is occupied by usable floor area. Only 'Buildings' are eligible for the CTBUH 'Tallest Buildings' lists.

Building

Status
Completed
Architecturally Topped Out
Structurally Topped Out
Under Construction
Proposed
On Hold
Never Completed
Vision
Competition Entry
Canceled
Proposed Renovation
Under Renovation
Renovated
Under Demolition
Demolished

Completed

Completion

2010

Country
The CTBUH follows the United Nations's definition of Country, and thus uses the lists and codes established by that organization.

China

City
The CTBUH follows the United Nations's definition of City, and thus uses the lists and codes established by that organization.

Guangzhou

Function
A single-function tall building is defined as one where 85% or more of its usable floor area is dedicated to a single usage. Thus a building with 90% office floor area would be said to be an "office" building, irrespective of other minor functions it may also contain.

A mixed-use tall building contains two or more functions (or uses), where each of the functions occupy a significant proportion of the tower's total space. Support areas such as car parks and mechanical plant space do not constitute mixed-use functions. Functions are denoted on CTBUH "Tallest Building" lists in descending order, e.g., "hotel/office" indicates hotel function above office function.

Hotel / Office

Structural Material
All-Steel
Both the main vertical/lateral structural elements and the floor spanning systems are constructed from steel. Note that a building of steel construction with a floor system of concrete planks or concrete slab on top of steel beams is still considered an “all-steel” structure as the concrete elements are not acting as the primary structure.

All-Concrete
Both the main vertical/lateral structural elements and the floor spanning systems are constructed from concrete which has been cast in place and utilizes steel reinforcement bars and/or steel reinforced concrete which has been precast as individual components and assembled together on-site.

All-Timber
Both the main vertical/lateral structural elements and the floor spanning systems are constructed from timber. An all-timber structure may include the use of localized non-timber connections between timber elements. Note that a building of timber construction with a floor system of concrete planks or concrete slab on top of timber beams is still considered an “all-timber” structure as the concrete elements are not acting as the primary structure.

Mixed-Structure
Utilizes distinct systems (e.g. all-steel, all-concrete, all-timber), one on top of the other. For example, a Steel Over Concrete indicates an all-steel structural system located on top of an all-concrete structural system, with the opposite true of Concrete Over Steel.

Composite
A combination of materials (e.g. steel, concrete, timber) are used together in the main structural elements. Examples include buildings which utilize: steel columns with a floor system of reinforced concrete beams; a steel frame system with a concrete core; concrete-encased steel columns; concrete-filled steel tubes; etc. Where known, the CTBUH database breaks out the materials used within a composite building’s primary structural elements.

Concrete-Steel Composite

Height
Architectural
Height is measured from the level of the lowest, significant, open-air, pedestrian entrance to the architectural top of the building, including spires, but not including antennae, signage, flag poles or other functional-technical equipment. This measurement is the most widely utilized and is employed to define the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) rankings of the "World's Tallest Buildings."

438.6 m / 1,439 ft

To Tip
Height is measured from the level of the lowest, significant, open-air, pedestrian entrance to the highest point of the building, irrespective of material or function of the highest element (i.e., including antennae, flagpoles, signage and other functional-technical equipment).
438.6 m / 1,439 ft
Occupied
Height is measured from the level of the lowest, significant, open-air, pedestrian entrance to the highest occupied floor within the building.
415.1 m / 1,362 ft
Observatory
415.1 m / 1,362 ft
Helipad
Height, measured from the level of the lowest, significant, open-air, pedestrian entrance, to the building's helipad.
437.5 m / 1,435 ft
Floors Above Ground
The number of floors above ground should include the ground floor level and be the number of main floors above ground, including any significant mezzanine floors and major mechanical plant floors. Mechanical mezzanines should not be included if they have a significantly smaller floor area than the major floors below. Similarly, mechanical penthouses or plant rooms protruding above the general roof area should not be counted. Note: CTBUH floor counts may differ from published accounts, as it is common in some regions of the world for certain floor levels not to be included (e.g., the level 4, 14, 24, etc. in Hong Kong).

101

Floors Below Ground
The number of floors below ground should include all major floors located below the ground floor level.

4

# of Hotel Rooms
Number of Hotel Rooms refers to the total number of hotel rooms contained within a particular building.

374

# of Parking Spaces
Number of Parking Spaces refers to the total number of car parking spaces contained within a particular building.

1740

# of Elevators
Number of Elevators refers to the total number of elevator cars (not shafts) contained within a particular building (including public, private and freight elevators).

71

Top Elevator Speed
Top Elevator Speed refers to the top speed capable of being achieved by an elevator within a particular building, measured in meters per second.

8 m/s

Tower GFA
Tower GFA refers to the total gross floor area within the tower footprint, not including adjoining podiums, connected buildings or other towers within the development.

250,095 m² / 2,692,000 ft²

Rankings

#
27
Tallest in the World
#
21
Tallest in Asia
#
15
Tallest in China
#
2
Tallest in Guangzhou

Construction Schedule

2004

Proposed

2006

Construction Start

2010

Completed

Architect
Design

Usually involved in the front end design, with a "typical" condition being that of a leadership role through either Schematic Design or Design Development, and then a monitoring role through the CD and CA phases.

Architect of Record

Usually takes on the balance of the architectural effort not executed by the "Design Architect," typically responsible for the construction documents, conforming to local codes, etc. May often be referred to as "Executive," "Associate," or "Local" Architect, however, for consistency CTBUH uses the term "Architect of Record" exclusively.

Structural Engineer
Design

The Design Engineer is usually involved in the front end design, typically taking the leadership role in the Schematic Design and Design Development, and then a monitoring role through the CD and CA phases.

MEP Engineer
Design

The Design Engineer is usually involved in the front end design, typically taking the leadership role in the Schematic Design and Design Development, and then a monitoring role through the CD and CA phases.

Contractor
Main Contractor

The main contractor is the supervisory contractor of all construction work on a project, management of sub-contractors and vendors, etc. May be referred to as "Construction Manager," however, for consistency CTBUH uses the term "Main Contractor" exclusively.

Other Consultant

Other Consultant refers to other organizations which provided significant consultation services for a building project (e.g. wind consultants, environmental consultants, fire and life safety consultants, etc).

Façade

These are firms that consult on the design of a building's façade. May often be referred to as "Cladding," "Envelope," "Exterior Wall," or "Curtain Wall" Consultant, however, for consistency CTBUH uses the term "Façade Consultant" exclusively.

Fire
Quantity Surveyor
Sustainability
Traffic
Vertical Transportation
Material Supplier

Material Supplier refers to organizations which supplied significant systems/materials for a building project (e.g. elevator suppliers, facade suppliers, etc).

Façade Maintenance Equipment
Owner/Developer
Yuexiu Real Estate Investment Trust
Architect
Design

Usually involved in the front end design, with a "typical" condition being that of a leadership role through either Schematic Design or Design Development, and then a monitoring role through the CD and CA phases.

Architect of Record

Usually takes on the balance of the architectural effort not executed by the "Design Architect," typically responsible for the construction documents, conforming to local codes, etc. May often be referred to as "Executive," "Associate," or "Local" Architect, however, for consistency CTBUH uses the term "Architect of Record" exclusively.

Structural Engineer
Design

The Design Engineer is usually involved in the front end design, typically taking the leadership role in the Schematic Design and Design Development, and then a monitoring role through the CD and CA phases.

MEP Engineer
Design

The Design Engineer is usually involved in the front end design, typically taking the leadership role in the Schematic Design and Design Development, and then a monitoring role through the CD and CA phases.

Contractor
Main Contractor

The main contractor is the supervisory contractor of all construction work on a project, management of sub-contractors and vendors, etc. May be referred to as "Construction Manager," however, for consistency CTBUH uses the term "Main Contractor" exclusively.

China State Construction Engineering Corporation; Guangzhou Municipal Construction Group JV
Other Consultant

Other Consultant refers to other organizations which provided significant consultation services for a building project (e.g. wind consultants, environmental consultants, fire and life safety consultants, etc).

Acoustics
Campbell Shillinglaw Lau Ltd
Façade

These are firms that consult on the design of a building's façade. May often be referred to as "Cladding," "Envelope," "Exterior Wall," or "Curtain Wall" Consultant, however, for consistency CTBUH uses the term "Façade Consultant" exclusively.

Fire
Lighting
Lichtvision; Hirsch Bedner Associates
Property Management
Guangzhou Yuexiu City Construction Jones Lang LaSalle Property Management Co., Ltd.
Quantity Surveyor
Sustainability
Traffic
Vertical Transportation
Material Supplier

Material Supplier refers to organizations which supplied significant systems/materials for a building project (e.g. elevator suppliers, facade suppliers, etc).

Aluminium
Guangdong JMA Aluminium Profile Factory (Group) Co., Ltd.
Façade Maintenance Equipment
Paint/Coating
Jotun
Sealants
Guangzhou Baiyun Chemical Industry Co. Ltd.
Steel
China Construction Steel Structure Corporation

CTBUH Awards & Distinctions

10 Year Award 2020 Award of Excellence

2020 CTBUH Awards

Best Tall Building, by Region, Asia & Australasia 2011 Winner

2011 CTBUH Awards

 

CTBUH Initiatives

 

Videos

19 October 2016 | Guangzhou

Exploring Geometry and Form in Tall Buildings

Wednesday, October 19, 2016. Guangzhou, China. Chris Wilkinson of Wilkinson Eyre, presents at the 2016 China Conference Plenary 5: "Beyond Guangzhou: Other Settings" Using four...

Research

01 September 2018

Significant Progress in Construction Equipment of Super High-Rise Building

Kun Zhang & Hui Wang & Kaiqiang Wang & Jian Cui & Bo Chen and Di Li, China Construction Third Engineering Bureau Group Co., Ltd

The construction of rapid developing super high-rise buildings constantly faces great challenges and the innovation of construction equipment is a focus of these challenges. In...

About Guangzhou International Finance Center

Guangzhou International Finance Center is a landmark tower which defines the emerging international strength of China’s third largest city and serves as a landmark for Guangzhou Zhujiang New Town’s main axis, which links the commercial district in the north with the Pearl River to the south. At the time of its completion it was the fourth tallest building in China and the ninth tallest building in the world. Its elegant simplicity belies the complex geometry of form and structure which makes it possible. Each of the three façades of the curved triangular plan are also curved in section with a radius of 5.1km set out asymmetrically with the widest point at a third of the height, tapering to its narrowest point at the top. There is no spire, and the three curved façades continue up beyond the highest floor and, in some views, seems to disappear to infinity. The highest point is a helicopter landing pad which hovers over the central atrium just overhanging the perimeter cladding. The inside of this atrium, with its crystalline geometry, sparkles with abundant daylight and is taller than the height of London’s St. Paul\'s Cathedral, including its dome.

Its rounded triangular plan responds to the need for efficient internal space layouts and excellent environmental performance. The tower has a mixture of uses including office space, a luxury hotel and a top floor observation area. Office floors occupy levels 2 through 67 and a Four Seasons hotel is on levels 67 through 101. The tower has a triple height 12 m (39 ft) high entrance lobby which rings the base of the tower and allows secure access to the building’s double decker shuttles and standard lift groupings. The main lobby also connects via escalators to a secondary office lobby located at the lower basement level, which in turn allows access to below ground retail and the MTR station. A further dedicated lobby and set down has been formed at ground level for the hotel. At ground level, the tower connects with a substantial podium complex containing a retail mall, conference center and serviced apartments. The tower and podium connect to a large retail mall and transport hub below ground, with a retail loop encouraging connections underneath a landscaped central axis.

The building utilizes the world’s tallest constructed diagrid structure which is clearly expressed though the building’s façade and gives the building considerable character. The diagrid members are formed from concrete filled steel tubes which provide both good stiffness and fire protection to the structure. However, two hour fire protection was still required in order to meet codes and this was trowel applied directly to the building’s primary structure. The tubular diagrid structure “nodes-out” every 12 stories to form 54 m (177 ft) high giant steel diamonds. At the base of the tower the structural members are 1800 mm (70 in) in diameter and reduce in size up the building to 900 mm (35 in) at the top of the building.

The structural core takes much of the gravity load of the building’s floors and is linked back to the diagrid perimeter structure via floor beams to create a stiff “tube-within-a-tube” structural system. The inherent stiffness in the structure minimizes steel tonnage while providing inherent stiffness and resistance to acceleration and sway, thereby maintaining high comfort levels for the building’s occupants. This stiffness and resistance to acceleration means that no damping of the structure is required.

The building has been designed to be a low carbon and sustainable building. The shape of the building has been designed to reduce the effects of wind, thereby reducing the necessary size and weight of the structure. In addition to fundamental passive measures such as orientation, sustainable building systems have been incorporated into the design which address issues such as comfort, maintenance and cost while paying due regard to environmental sustainability and energy conservation. These include: solar thermal hot water; air-side energy recovery; heat recovery chiller; ice storage system; desiccant dehumidification; high-rise air discharge pressure CFD analysis; free cooling system; and variable air volume.

CTBUH Awards & Distinctions

10 Year Award 2020 Award of Excellence

2020 CTBUH Awards

Best Tall Building, by Region, Asia & Australasia 2011 Winner

2011 CTBUH Awards

19 October 2016 | Guangzhou

Exploring Geometry and Form in Tall Buildings

Wednesday, October 19, 2016. Guangzhou, China. Chris Wilkinson of Wilkinson Eyre, presents at the 2016 China Conference Plenary 5: "Beyond Guangzhou: Other Settings" Using four...

11 June 2013 | Guangzhou

Session 10: Developing High-Rise Living in the European Context

An increase in high-rise living in traditionally commerce-focused urban centers has been a key urban trend in cities across the entire globe. This has great...

20 September 2012 | Guangzhou

Guangzhou Finance Centre: an Elegant Simplicity of Form

When a tower rises above the cityscape, it has a responsibility to make a positive contribution and a grouping of towers should make a visually...

20 September 2012 | Guangzhou

Interview: Building Green Tall and Livability

Chris Wilkinson of Wilkinson Eyre Architects is interviewed by Jeff Herzer during the 2012 CTBUH Shanghai Congress at the Jin Mao, Shanghai. Chris talks about...

03 November 2011 | Guangzhou

Best Tall Building Asia & Australasia: Guangzhou IFC: Towards An Elegant Simplicity

The tallest of the four regional winners this year at 440 meters, the Guangzhou International Finance Center utilizes the world’s tallest constructed diagrid structure, whose...

03 November 2011 | Guangzhou

CTBUH 10th Annual Awards Dinner

The 10th Annual Awards Ceremony & Dinner was held in Mies van der Rohe’s iconic Crown Hall, on the Illinois Institute of Technology campus, Chicago....

03 November 2011 | Guangzhou

Interview: Guangzhou IFC

Chris Wilkinson & Dominic Bettison of Wilkinson Eyre Architects, Michael Kwok & Craig Gibbons of Arup are interviewed by Jeff Herzer during the 2011 CTBUH...

05 March 2008 | Guangzhou

Nonlinear Dynamic Earthquake Analysis of Skyscrapers

Sam Lee, of Guangzhou Scientific Computing Consultants, presented a solution on the ABAQUS platform at the CTBUH 8th World Congress in Dubai by selecting the...

01 September 2018

Significant Progress in Construction Equipment of Super High-Rise Building

Kun Zhang & Hui Wang & Kaiqiang Wang & Jian Cui & Bo Chen and Di Li, China Construction Third Engineering Bureau Group Co., Ltd

The construction of rapid developing super high-rise buildings constantly faces great challenges and the innovation of construction equipment is a focus of these challenges. In...

01 March 2017

Engineering of Guangzhou International Finance Centre

Michael Kwok & Alexis Lee, Arup

The Guangzhou International Finance Centre (IFC) is a landmark building that symbolizes the emerging international strength of Guangzhou, China’s third largest city. It is also...

01 December 2016

An Overview of Structural & Aesthetic Developments in Tall Buildings Using Exterior Bracing & Diagrid Systems

Kheir Al-Kodmany, University of Illinois; Mir M. Ali, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

There is much architectural and engineering literature which discusses the virtues of exterior bracing and diagrid systems in regards to sustainability - two systems which...

01 December 2016

The Emergence of the Diagrid - It’s All About the Node

Terri Meyer Boake, University of Waterloo

The diagrid structural system for constructing tall buildings is a recent invention. Debuting in 2004 with the construction of the Swiss Re Tower in London,...

17 October 2016

Exploring Geometry and Form in Tall Buildings

Chris Wilkinson, Wilkinson Eyre Architects

Using four tower designs on four continents – the Guangzhou International Finance Center in China, the Crown Sydney Resort Hotel in Australia, 45 Bay Street...

01 September 2015

Innovative Technologies and Their Application on the Construction of a 100-Plus-Story Skyscraper

Ye Haowen, China State Construction Engineering Corporation

Experience on the construction of several 100-plus-story skyscrapers including Guangzhou West Tower, Guangzhou East Tower, and Shenzhen’s KK100 is described considering the increasingly strong development...

11 June 2014

Highest Helipads

CTBUH Research

In this installment of Tall Buildings in Numbers, CTBUH considers how helipads are used on skyscrapers, and which are the highest in the world. The...

13 January 2013

Guangzhou International Finance Center, China

The Guangzhou International Finance Center is not only recognised as the tallest building in Guangzhou, but one of the most beautiful. A triangular base supports...

23 September 2012

The Tallest 15 Cities in China

CTBUH Research

With over 1.3 billion citizens and a rapidly urbanizing population, China is developing tall buildings more than any other country globally. Currently it has 239...

19 September 2012

Guangzhou Finance Centre: An Elegant Simplicity of Form

Chris Wilkinson, Wilkinson Eyre Architects Ltd

The design for the Guangzhou International Finance Centre makes the case for a high rise aesthetic that aims for an elegant simplicity, but expresses the...

25 January 2019

CTBUH Guangzhou Symposium : Spatial Design

The CTBUH China Office successfully held a Symposium in Guangzhou revolving around the theme: "Spatial Design: Inside and Outisde of Skyscrapers."

13 October 2016

Top Company Rankings: The World’s 100 Tallest Buildings

The Council is pleased to announce the Top Company Rankings for numerous disciplines as derived from the list of projects appearing in 100 of the World’s Tallest Buildings.