Looping, Leaning Tube in Beijing Is an Antidote to the Skyscraper
China Central Television’s multipurpose station and headquarters is part of a new generation of cutting-edge structures whose innovative architecture comes to life with the help of advanced modeling and measuring tools. The looping first-of-its-kind structure on the east side of Beijing’s central business district has a dramatic overhang suspended 36 stories in the air and a diagonally braced continuous-tube frame expressing the forces of its structural system onthe facade. Engineers precisely predicted preset positions for the inclined steel, and the contractor, using more than 600 monitoring stations, made sure the structure moved into the correct final position. Foundation work included a record-setting, 40,000-cu-meter continuous concrete pour.
The owner, the country's major television broadcaster, is a subministry of the central government that reports official views on the news. Programming, however, is a mix of comedy, drama and soaps, and popularity with viewers is important for advertising revenue. CCTV leaders wanted a new headquarters that its audience would talk about. It held an international design competition for the project in 2002 that was won by Rem Koolhaas's practice, the Office of Metropolitan Architecture (OMA), based in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. OMA worked closely with London-based Arup for a range of engineering services and in alliance with East China Architecture and Design Institute (ECADI), which became the local design institute of record for both architecture and engineering.