WUHAN | Projects & Construction

[Minsk]

AREP designs major new rail terminal for city of Wuhan

Wuhan, the capital of central China, stands at the crossroads of nine provinces. Located on the Yangtze River, at its confluence with the river Han, the city is surrounded by lakes and hills. It has a rich history, steeped in legend, and is currently developing at breakneck speed.

The new station in Wuhan stands as a symbol both of this historic past and its current spectacular development. The sweep of the roofs, which are systematically organised in two large wings, on either side of a central concourse running east to west, illustrates one of the most famous Wuhan legends and alludes to the flight of a legendary bird, a yellow crane, whose return to the country announces an era of prosperity and happiness.

Steeped in symbolism, the roof is in nine sections, echoing the city's location at the crossroads of nine provinces. The dynamic embodied in the image of the station is also that of present-day Wuhan. Thus, the image of the station appropriates an ancient component of the Chinese tradition - 'a sweeping roof that challenges the sky, built on a massive foundation rooted in the earth' - while at the same time projecting it into a highly-contemporary idiom. The station is thus a contemporary city monument, a present day palace, rooted in the city's modern and historical culture and values.

It is a gateway into the city, used by hundreds of thousands of passengers each day, travelling in from the surrounding provinces on fast, modern trains. A balcony over the city, the upper levels of the station on the west side afford magnificent views of the city of Wuhan and its surrounding lakes and hills. As the station affirms its strong architectural identity, form expresses function. The body of the bird, extending out from the alignment of the urban development, contains the access, reception, waiting and service functions.

Access routes to the platforms are central to the composition. The interplay of access routes and levels creates a three-dimensional space beneath the roof canopy, animated and punctuated by the movements of trains and passengers. The different itineraries all help to discover a space designed for exchange that is simultaneously efficient and poetic.

The wings extending out from either side of the body completely roof in the platforms. They are composed of roof sections created out of a succession of partially overlapping wavelets, which provide views of the sky. They protect the platforms very effectively while at the same time allowing the natural light to filter through. The general, west-facing composition marks the direction of the city.

On the different levels: at level + 24m00: services, restaurants; at level + 17m20: departure halls, services and waiting rooms; at level + 10m20: train platforms. At this level, ticket sales take place on intermediate landings located between the ground level and the departure halls; at level ± 0m00: arrivals halls and exchanges between urban and regional transport modes; and at level - 6m00: Metro platforms.

The garden plays two roles. As a way to access the station, it forms the transition between the city and the station. It also provides landscape continuity between the two lakes located to the north and south. The composition of the extensive mineral esplanade is organised along the station's central axis. The glass roof of the metro station and its access from the city are located along this same axis. On either side of the esplanade, plantings follow the gradients. The waters of the adjacent lakes meet on the esplanade. The sloping esplanade constitutes the massive, monumental foundation, over which floats the stations sinuous, airy roof.

Source: www.worldarchitecturenews.com

[hkskyline]

^ I presume that is the new station for the Guangzhou-Wuhan HSR?

[Minsk]

Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill win contest for Qintai Center with guzheng-inspired design

Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture has won an international competition to design Qintai Center, a 248m (814ft) tall, high-performance corporate headquarters tower and related podium structure in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. AS+GG’s winning entry was selected over competing schemes from firms based in the Netherlands, Japan and Hong Kong.

Qintai Center’s total constructed area is 146,000 sq m, including a 5-star hotel and office space to be occupied by the client, Hubei Tobacco Company, and other tenants. The tower will be connected via a plaza and an above-grade pedestrian bridge to the podium, which will contain retail, restaurants and a conference centre with a ballroom. At the top of the tower, a special executive lounge and restaurants will offer spectacular views of the surrounding cityscape. The tower’s unique form is both culturally and environmentally contextual to the city of Wuhan.

“The genesis of the form in the competition phase related to the guzheng, a traditional Chinese musical instrument similar to a zither, featuring strings that are stretched over pegs that form a raised S curve over a rectangular wooden frame,” notes Adrian Smith, FAIA, RIBA. “The instrument is similar to the one featured in a Chinese legend with deep significance to the culture of Hubei, which in turn inspired our design process early on.”

During the ongoing concept design phase, the cultural influence of the building has been developed in relation to the building’s energy performance. Informed by a rigorous parametric analysis, the façade now bows outward in a diagonal line that ascends northwest up the tower. This shape has been adjusted to optimize self-shading and minimise solar heat gain, an effect augmented by the fact that both the tower and podium’s narrowest exposures are mostly to the east and west, from which the sun is harshest. In addition, the tower’s smaller floor plates allow for greater use of daylight harvesting, which in turn reduces the building’s energy consumption for artificial lighting.

“Our initial reference of Qintai Center in relation to a musical instrument has been refined with the building’s performance in mind,” says Gordon Gill, AIA. “Now the building has matured to have its own specific language tied to a broader environment context while still maintaining the cultural reference of the guzheng. In that sense, it’s an advancement of our firm’s continuing investigation into the relation of architectural form and sustainability, a concept summed up by the phrase ‘form follows performance.’”

Qintai Center is oriented to maximise views of Wuhan’s great bodies of water, including Moon Lake to the east and the nearby Hanshui River to the north. The building will also enjoy a perspective of the AS+GG-designed Wuhan Greenland Center, a supertall tower now in the early stages of construction about five miles from the Qintai site.

The cultural importance of Moon Lake and the city’s three rivers are emphasised on Qintai Center’s 25,863 sq m site by a series of pools and other water features that surround the tower and podium. The water features are also performative elements of the design, making the air feel fresher to building users in Wuhan’s hot climate. Water for these elements will come from stormwater and/or recovered condensate from the complex.

Source: www.worldarchitecturenews.com

[hkskyline]

Wuhan to get 200-m ferris wheel

WUHAN, Oct. 23 (Xinhua) -- A ferris wheel taller than 200 meters will straddle a river in central China's Wuhan City in five years, in more good news for thrill-seekers in a country which is no stranger to giant wheels.

The "Hanjiang Eye" over 65 meters taller than England's "London Eye" will rise over the Hanjiang River in Wuhan, capital of Hubei Province, according to an announcement by Hu Lishan, deputy mayor of the city.

The ferris wheel is part of a Wuhan facelift aiming to turn an old downtown street into a modern business district. The project was given a credit line of 8 billion yuan (1.2 billion U.S. dollars) on Monday by a local bank.

"The ferris wheel will become a landmark of the district," said Hu.

China reportedly boasts more than five of the world's 10 tallest ferris wheels, including one atop a 450-meter building in southern Guangzhou City and the 160-meter-tall ferris wheel in east China's Nanchang City.

[orange boy]

http://www.gaoloumi.com/viewthread.php?tid=562543

Something more for this megatall?

[Julito-dubai]

just repost the pictures in the link from orange boy. Just to show people what we are talking about here: WOW !!!!

[hkskyline]

At least 3 injured in tower crane collapse in central China construction site

WUHAN, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- A tower crane collapsed on Wednesday afternoon at a construction site in Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province, injuring at least three people, witnesses said.

A witness surnamed Ye said three people were rushed to hospital after a tower crane collapsed at around 2 p.m. at a residential community that is currently under construction in the city's Jiufeng Township, Hongshan District.

The exact number of casualties is not yet known.

[hkskyline]

10.12.2012 13:08
Seas of Sewage
The wastewater treatment plants are there but the water isn't getting any cleaner – how lagging water pipe infrastructure is clogging China's waterways with trash
By staff reporter Cui Zheng
http://english.caixin.com/2012-10-12/100446374.html

(Beijing) – Every day, roughly half of the sewage from over 10 million people in Wuhan swell the city's pipes and empty directly into the Yangtze River. And the one thing that continues to spring eternal is contaminated wastewater.

Throughout the country, there are wastewater treatment plants operating at below capacity, or sometimes not at all, largely due to huge discrepancies in the building of water treatment plants versus sewage pipe networks.

The Hubei Province city's nine water treatment centers can barely process the 2.36 million tons of wastewater generated on a daily basis. Meanwhile, several facilities including a wastewater pump built with funds from the Asian Development Bank sit completely idle. Wang Chibing, chief of the Sewage Disposal division at the Wuhan Water Conservancy Bureau, said in April that the city would require massive amounts of investment to update its water infrastructure system, adding that he did not believe a reconstruction would be possible in the short term.

In other cities, water treatment levels are at zero. The Baiyun district of Guangzhou, Guangdong Province has seen small factories dump hazardous waste directly into waterways for decades. Kunming, the capital of Yunnan Province, pumps more than 400,000 tons of wastewater into the once-scenic Dian Lake. No water treatment plants have been set up in surrounding counties or towns.

China's waters are getting spoiled by sewage at a rapid rate, a reality that has long been acknowledged by authorities. In 2004, a special supervision team from the National People's Congress Standing Committee found that only one third of the 700 water treatment plants nationwide were operating at standard capacity, while one third were running at below capacity. The remaining one third was found to be operating intermittently, if at all.

Su Shipeng, professor and director of the Administrative Management Department of Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, has tracked the development of water infrastructure in China for decades. Su said at present, around 10 to 15 percent of water treatment facilities are operating at below capacity and that the low rate of water processing is still a major concern.

"That's the situation for many plants. The water treatment plants are handling much less than they are designed to process, and some are not running at all," said Yao Zewei, vice president of Shanghai Safebon Water Service. He added that many sewage treatment plants in Shanghai Municipality, and Zhejiang and Jiangsu Provinces only reach 30 to 40 percent of their processing capacity during daily operations, with just a few hitting 50 to 60 percent. In the past decade, the construction of water treatments plants has far outpaced upgrades to pipe networks. "Now new communities are being built at an amazing speed, but sewage disposal infrastructure has not kept up," said Yao.

Even in Beijing, a city that boasts among the highest rates of sewage treatment in the country, a large amount of untreated water still flows into nearby waterways, particularly during rainy seasons. Zhu Chendong, former deputy chief engineer at Beijing Water Authority told Caixin, although the infrastructure is designed to separate wastewater and storm water, some pipelines end up collecting both. On days when there is a surge in rainwater, pipelines become so filled that sewage treatment plants simply emit mixed water directly into rivers or lakes.

Getting into Hot Water

The dumping of untreated water nearby the very same sources of public tap water is well documented. In Wuhan alone, 12 of the 18 drinking water collection points are only a few kilometers away from waste water outlets.

Sun Jiashou, professor at School of Environment and Civil Engineering of Wuhan Institute of Technology, said although the waste water is mixed into rivers and lakes, untreated water in drinking water supplies could pose health risks to residents.

Under the previous five-year economic plan, the central government mapped out a goal to build 160,000 kilometers of wastewater pipelines. But by the end of 2010, only 70,000 kilometers were installed.

In the next five-year plan, the government aims to invest 430 billion yuan into the overall water infrastructure system, which will include building or upgrading 159,000 kilometers of water pipelines.

However, doubts over the upgrade plans are already being expressed. "This just isn't going to be enough," said Yao, "Funds allocated to the pipeline networks should account for more than two-thirds of the total investment to address the current crisis."

Money Down the Drain

A senior manager from a water service company revealed to Caixin under the condition of anonymity that he once worked for a water treatment project in Hebei Province, where the processing capacity is ten times the actual discharge volume.

Professor Sun said in some cases, sewage pipes are built after a water treatment project begins construction. In Shenzhen, Guangdong Province and Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, water pipes were built after water treatment facilities were put into place, creating less efficient pipeline construction.

The senior manager said the total amount of water supplied to households is the primary determinant in sewage treatment fees under current policies. As a result, local governments are incentivized to treat less than the total water consumed.

"Local governments cry for a lack of investment, but it's clearly a problem with the system," said the senior manager.

[Julito-dubai]

Wanda Plaza East Lake

[Julito-dubai]

http://www.wpl.gov.cn/projectlook/ma...&unit=0&type=2

This link shows Wuhans Construction boom. Just click on the individual project

[Julito-dubai]

And now the other side of Hanyang River plus more of the Hankou side:







http://www.gaoloumi.com/viewthread.p...extra=page%3D1

[hkskyline]

A new bridge is being built across the Yangtze to connect Wuhan's Hanyang and Wuchang districts :

[hkskyline]

Wuhan Airport second runway design approved
11-Apr-2013 3:06 PM
© CAPA

China’s Wuhan Airport announced (09-Apr-2013) the initial deigns for several of the airport’s phase three expansion project including the initial design plan for its second runway received CAAC and Hubei Provincial Government approval on 29-Mar-2013. Under the plan, a 3600m x 60m runway will be constructed, as well as two 3600m x 26m parallel taxiways and two 23m south connector taxiways. The airport expects to handle 38 million passengers and 440,000 tons of cargo p/a by 2020, three times the current capacity.

Wuhan airport - 4 April