SHANGHAI – A symposium on “Gains and Losses in Tall Building Design Competitions,” co-hosted by CTBUH China and Shanghai Young Professionals Committee (YPC), was successfully held at the China Construction Design International (CCDI)’s office. During the symposium, the members of CTBUH YPC  discussed the challenges and merits of design competitions, focusing on China's unique market environment and its urbanization process.

The symposium was moderated by Xia Ai, Research Director, CCDI, who welcomed nine guest speakers, beginning with Yan Li, Associate General Manager, CCDI. Li was followed by Xia Ai, Research Director, who examined a large number of incomplete CCDI proposals resulting from design competitions, and analyzed the different reasons they failed. A temporary loss may result in the next gain, he explained.

Next to speak was Haojiang Liu, Chief Architect of Dept. 1, ISA Architecture, who outlined the design process for his firm’s entry to the Shanghai Finance Center competition. After detailing how they modified and deepened the scheme according to the assignment book and various requirements, he introduced the concept – and practice – of the building’s atrium. Mu Li, Executive Director of Design Management, Ping An Real Estate Ltd., tackled the topic from a competition organizer’s perspective, explaining the objectives of a competition, and the expectation of competitors to play to their strengths. This, Li said, makes for a better, more diversified competition.

Yong Ding, Shanghai Office Director, Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates, discussed the proposal for Shanghai Museum East Pavilion, which takes advantage of the city axis system to create public space. He also remarked on KPF’s design method for high-rise buildings, in which mass comparisons of quantifiable models were conducted.  Hailong Chen, Director, CallisonRTKL, presented on the conceptual planning of Red Town and the “Cultural Walk” that takes visitors through the urban redevelopment project.

Afterward, Honglei Wu, Deputy Chief Engineer, and Zhengtao Zhu, Director Architect of Dept. 2, Tongji Architectural Design (Group) Co., Ltd., introduced the proposal of the Nanjing Pukou high-rise, commenting on the structural and the architectural strategies. They explained how mega-braced frame structure systems cooperated with the elegant shape. Bin Pan, Senior Structural Engineer, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP, continued the theme by sharing the proposal for Shenzhen Zhongxin Finance Center, which features a skewed-grid system. Through this case, he explained how structural design excellence can facilitate architectural design excellence.

Zhou Fan, Vice President & Technical Director, Gensler, highlighted how through multi-party cooperation, builders were able to re-design the core tube under a tight deadline in order to get approval for the proposed Shanghai Bohua building. He also explained how a curtain wall with inclined glass can resolve problems of light pollution. To close out the presentations, Zhizhe Yu, Co-Founder/Managing Director, AI., used two proposals to demonstrate ways in which firms can stand out from the competition, such as developing a thorough understanding of the project site.

To conclude, Jing Cui, Assistant to the Director, CTBUH China Office, provided closing remarks and spoke words of thanks.