SHANGHAI: Another super skyscraper is slowly rising from Shanghai's futuristic skyline.

At 492 metres and 101 storeys, the Shanghai World Financial Centre (SWFC) will not only become the tallest building on the mainland, eclipsing the Jinmao Building (421 metres) in Shanghai. Its Japanese developer said it is focusing more on building an eco-friendly skyscraper designed as a multipurpose "Vertical Garden City" a future "world-class international financial centre" that combines offices, hotel, shopping mall, observatory as well as office support facilities possibly including health clinics.

With a total investment of US$9.079 billion, work on the tower is under way in Lujiazui Financial and Trade Zone, the fast-developing commercial and financial district in Shanghai's Pudong New Area. The SWFC is slated to be finished by early 2008, just before the Beijing Olympic Games.

Minoru Mori, president and chief executive officer of Tokyo-headquartered Mori Building Co Ltd, the privately held Japanese real estate developer of the project, was behind the "Vertical Garden City," bringing the concept of a green multifunctional complex to China for the first time. Senmao Building in Dalian and HSBC Tower in Shanghai are two other Mori buildings in China using green designs, except these are limited to office use unlike SWFC.

"We think that creating a building which works as one multi-functional community is the biggest feature of this project," said Shoji Haginoya, vice general manager of Shanghai World Financial Centre Co Ltd.

With the breakneck speed of China's economic and modernization drive creating serious environmental problems in the country, reportedly home to 16 of the world's 20 most polluted cities, green solutions have been a top agenda.

In Shanghai, some have complained the city is being overbuilt with skyscrapers at the expense of the environment and quality of life. But Mori Building said it's taking social corporate responsibility seriously in not aiming for architectural glory at the expense of a suffocating environment.

"We don't want to create just a concrete-and-steel project. We really care about the environment," said Takahiko Raijo, manager of project planning and development department for the SWFC, in an interview with Environment China.

The company was inspired to "build a community full of greens to create the harmony between urban life and nature," Haginoya explained, "A community that not only satisfies urban life, but also a natural, healthy and full life."

The SWFC is designed after the trendy US$2.2 billion Roppongi Hills entertainment, cultural, business, residential and shopping complex in Tokyo and other Mori projects based on the "Vertical Garden City" concept, Haginoya said, focusing on the "effective use of energy and resources."

"The soul of the concept is to create a comfortable environment and make all working and living facilities reachable in one community," said Haginoya, "This contributes to (protecting) the urban environment by reducing air problems."

Unlike urban development in the past which would just build a separate unit for limited purpose, he said, the SWFC will be compact in order to effectively use land.

A multi-purpose city will be created in which the SWFC will house various business, dining and shopping facilities within walking distance from each other in order to reduce the use of vehicles.

"We hope this project will help make the Lujiazui area into a comfortable urban life space, 24 hours a day, seven days a week," he said.

Technology

In a tour at the Information Centre next to the SWFC construction site on Century Avenue, a screen presentation was shown displaying computer-generated images of the completed skyscraper sculpted like a jumbo Toblerone bar, with a key-hole-like top to break the impact of the wind and marble floors that you can see your reflection in.

Raijo pointed out that a few floors will have a Sky Lobby where office staff can buy lunch or snacks at convenience stores instead of taking one of the 91 elevators all the way down to the shopping mall and restaurants, as well as other "office support facilities" including possible health clinics.

The SWFC will also be home to a five-star Park Hyatt Hotel and an observatory - to be the highest in the world with a bridge offering bird's-eye views of the city as part of the unusual key-hole roof.

Unlike other buildings which tend to require renovation after 30 years, the SWFC is being built using "high endurance" material lasting more than 100 years, Haginoya said.

"In addition to this, SWFC's major concern and interest is how to lower down energy consumption by effectively utilizing the limited resources on earth," Haginoya added.

By building just one multi-purpose skyscraper instead of several buildings for specific purposes, the energy consumption per person can be reduced, Haginoya pointed out. Another eco-friendly approach Mori Building is taking is using construction materials that are free from substances such as asbestos and formaldehyde, which are harmful to the environment and humans.

The construction will also minimize the spread of construction dust outside the site to prevent air pollution by installing windows covering the whole building serving as "curtain walls."

They will also lower electricity consumption of air conditioning by adopting the "VAV (Variable Air Volume)" system for the first time in China. This system controls the air conditioner using a sensor to detect the level of temperature inside the building and automatically and quickly controlling the indoor temperature to the right moderate level. Unlike general office and commercial buildings, Haginoya said, the SWFC will divide the whole building into more than 1,000 zones.

Each zone will have a VAV system that will control the different temperatures required by each zone to minimize electricity consumption.

The SWFC will also adopt a "multiple, energy-saving glass" for its curtain walls, which are heat-reflecting transparent glass sandwiched together to prevent heat and cold from coming in and to preserve the heat inside, thus keeping air conditioning at a low level, he added.

Construction of the SWFC started in 1997 and was halted because of the Asian financial crisis, according to Haginoya. Despite the anxiety surrounding skyscrapers after September 11, the project pushed ahead with restarting construction in 2003. The building is less than halfway done, with the core wall completed up to the 57th floor using steel beams as of August 7.

Debate

Gong, an officer of land development sub-centre of Putuo District for the Plan and Construction Office of the Changfeng Area in Shanghai, said he believes such efforts will be effective in protecting the environment.

Gong added that the Jinmao Building and Jiushi Mansion in Shanghai are examples of successful eco-friendly buildings.

China also has other projects with buildings designed for energy efficiency, water conservation, air pollution reduction and recycling materials, according to Jin Ruidong, a senior expert based in Beijing at the China Building Architecture Design & Research Institute and a main consultant for the US-based Natural Resources Defense Council on building energy efficient and green buildings. Such eco-friendly buildings in China, for instance, can be found in Shenzhen, Shanghai, Hangzhou and Beijing 2008 Olympic facilities, he said.

But experts say it's pricier to build them, making it a barrier to constructing green skyscrapers in China. Daily maintenance costs for the Jinmao Building, for instance, reportedly was almost 1 million yuan (US$125,000) a day. Such figures were not available for SWFC.

Nabil Nasr, director of the Centre for Integrated Manufacturing Studies at Rochester Institute of Technology in New York, has worked with a host of Chinese organizations in environmental design and pollution prevention.

"In new markets, there may not be a ready supply of 'green architects, builders, materials providers,' so there is a lack of materials and trained experts," he said.

"If no regional providers of 'green materials and services' exist, then emerging economies might need to import materials - which could cost them more upfront. Until their development really takes off, costs will remain high. As a result there exists a disincentive for them to build green. It is also common to have higher cost associated with green buildings than conventional ones."

Construction of high-rise buildings always puts more pressure on the environment as it requires more materials and resources that can cause environmental problems, added Jin. "In practice, making a high-rise building green may have more challenges than (regular) buildings," he said.

Besides the barriers, some opposition to the building of super skyscrapers was reported by Canadian national newspaper, The Globe and Mail, when construction for the SWFC restarted in 2003. Civic leaders reportedly demanded fewer clusters of super-tall skyscrapers and more green spaces in Shanghai.

"There are too many tall buildings. Profit-chasing by developers has destroyed the urban space," Zheng Shiling, head of the urban space committee at Shanghai's planning commission, was quoted as saying in The Globe and Mail article.

"The competition for higher and higher buildings has created a dinosaur city, with more and more gigantic buildings, and it's not on a human scale. It's not good for the life of ordinary people."

Still, others say going green, even with skyscrapers, can offer more benefits in the long run.

In developed countries a "green building," certified by Leadership in Energy Efficient Design (LEED), has an initial cost of only 5 per cent more than non-green buildings and has lower operational costs of a more efficient building, according to Nathan Chan, general manager of China Solutions for Johnson Controls, a US firm working on helping to improve the eco-friendly aspects of buildings.

LEED is the current standard measuring the five areas of environmental protection: site planning, water efficiency, energy efficiency, materials and resources and indoor environmental quality.

Nasr said China is heading in the right direction by implementing the concept of a Vertical Green City. "Shanghai with its enormous development boom can gain tremendous benefits from using sustainability concepts in its future development," he said.

"It would reduce future environmental liabilities/risks. The SWFC project therefore points to a strong trend in the right direction for China and the Chinese people. However, at least in the near term, this will come at a cost and will take time to recover the additional added expenses."

There are signs of a growing environmental consciousness and redevelopment that uses green building approaches in China, the United States and around the world, Nasr noted. "Because it minimizes long-term environmental damage and maximizes long-term return on investment," he explained.

"Green development is definitely picking up in the US and around the globe. China's growing environmental issues, energy shortages, waste disposal problems and fears over growing consumption - which could outpace all other countries in the world combined in the next decade - have lead the Chinese to embrace sustainable policies in many areas including green buildings."

The Chinese Government also announced in March of 2006 a new five-year plan to rigorously implement eco-friendly construction standards, refurbish old buildings to improve energy efficiency, enhance studies on eco-friendly technology, equipment and materials, Nasr noted, which will become preferred options in construction projects and improve the legal system to facilitate energy conservation.

The number of green buildings in China compared to the United States or Europe is relatively small since the projects are still in their infancy in China, Nasr added. "However, the number is growing and the SWFC project will only enhance this effort," he said.

(China Daily 09/04/2006 page8)