Beijing's new CCTV tower and 798 Art Space

Trip Start Jul 20, 2004
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Trip End Jul 20, 2012


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Flag of China  ,
Friday, March 21, 2008

As Beijing is reaching its building climax (construction will be stopped between July and September) I asked one of my students if he could give me a tour of the CCTV tower which is suppossed to be completed just in time for the Olympics. Staying in China was a smart decision; no country can offer such a chameleon like change, which is especially palpable in Beijing.


CCTV's new 550,000 square meter headquarters, to be completed for the Beijing Olympics in 2008, will be among the first of 300 towers to be constructed in Beijing's new Central Business District. The Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) was awarded the contract on December 20, 2002.

The new CCTV headquarters, at a height of 230 meter and a floor area of about 400,000 square meters, combines administration with news, broadcasting, studios and program production - the entire process of TV making - in a sequence of interconnected activities 798 Art Space - Construction fever
798 Art Space - Construction fever
 . Although the building is 230 meter tall it is not a traditional tower, but a continuous loop of horizontal and vertical sections that establish an urban site rather than point to the sky. The irregular grid on the building's facades is an expression of the forces traveling throughout its structure.

The second building, the 115,000 m2 Television Cultural Center (TVCC) includes a hotel, a visitor's center, a large public theatre and exhibition spaces. It is visible from the main intersection of the Central Business District through the "window" of the CCTV headquarters.

Come and have a look.
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