Hasta La Ideas

This 599-metre skyscraper in Shenzhen by architecture firm Kohn Pederson Fox is punctuated by “sky lobbies” and crowned by an observation deck offering the loftiest views in the city.

Located in the Futian business district, the glass and stone skyscraper is the headquarters of Chinese insurance company Ping An.

The Ping An Finance Centre has 100 floors of offices for the company’s 15,500 employees, as well as an observation deck – which is expected to receive 9,000 visitors daily.

At 599 metres, it is the fourth tallest building in the world – falling behind Dubai’s 828-metre Burj Khalifa, the 632-metre Shanghai Tower and the 601-metre Makkah Royal Clock Tower in Mecca.

Chevron-shaped columns define the four corners of the skyscraper, which narrows towards the faceted enclosure of the viewing deck at its summit and broadens where it meets the street below.

The tapered form of the stone and glass building is designed to reduce wind load on the structure by 40 per cent. Stainless steel piers have also been implemented to help the structure withstand Shenzhen’s typically wet climate, and deter lightening strikes.

Shops and a large conference lobby occupy the five levels that stagger away from the building to form the podium level.

Hoping to create an “amphitheatre-like” atmosphere, Kohn Pederson Fox (KPF) completed this area with a central atrium and glazed walls to fill it with natural light.

The Ping An Finance Centre was completed in December 2017, following seven years of construction work.

At 599 metres, it falls just shy of entry to the megatall category – which includes buildings of 600 metres or more.

KPF is behind some of the world’s tallest structures. Last year the firm completed a 530-metre skyscraper in Guangzhou, which is the second-tallest skyscraper in China, and later the 555-metre high Lotte World Tower in Seoul, which ranks overall as the world’s fifth tallest building.

KPF is also currently planning the construction of the 68-storey Brooklyn Point Tower, which will be the New York borough’s second-tallest building.

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