[Þróndeimr]

CCTV Headquarters
Beijing - China

Height: 234m
Floors: 49
Construction start: September 2004
Construction completed: 2008

The new headquarters of China Central Television (CCTV) is being constructed adjacent to the Third Ring Road in Beijing, China, on a 10ha site in the
new Central Business District.

The project was started in september 2004 following a review of the design by a panel of Chinese experts. The construction is scheduled to be
completed in time to broadcast the Beijing Olympics in 2008. The development is being undertaken by the Chinese Government as part of a plan to
redevelop central Beijing with innovative and functional architecture, while preserving historic buildings at the same time.

The new building will involve two 'L' shaped high-rise towers linked at the top and the bottom at an angle to form a loop, which has been described as
a 'Z' criss-cross. The total construction cost is estimated at €600 million ($750 million). The CCTV tower will employ 10,000 people following completion
in 2008. But the construction was daleyted because of the opposition against this buildings cost, so the developers say the building will probably not be
completed before 2009.

Renderings

More renderings (click on thumbnail to enlarge)

 

[Þróndeimr]

Construction Images:

Updated 17th august 2005. Dig forward in this thread to see more construction images.

 

[th0m]

So are they already rising, or still on streetlevel? Kinda hard to see from that picture Quite long constructionperiod, but a design like that will do that for ya Either way, really interested in how this project will evolve, and I think the final product will be amazing

 

[chex]

one of the coolest project u/c!! .. imo.

 

[Krazy]

Very creative architecture! I love it!

 

[Þróndeimr]

So are they already rising, or still on streetlevel? Kinda hard to see from that picture

Well, i don't actually know. But i guess its still in an early construction period, but it will probably rise fast when they are finish with the ground construction.

 

[Sen]

i thought the design was changed because it's too costly, beijing citizens are not happy.

 

[Dubai-Lover]

one of the best designs ever

any better site photos or is it difficult to access?

 

[ahmedr]

Yeah, best looking highrise ever, IMO.
Just have one question, what's the name of the building on the left of the bottom render and what is it for?

 

[th0m]

Its part of the complex as well, but has a different purpose. To my best knowledge its desigend by Koolhaas as well, but has more of a media function as opposed to the other building which is more like an office-building.

 

[FM 2258]

I love this building and at a height of 750ft like I saw somewhere is a great height for a building like this. Wow.

 

[bobdebouwer]

This is going to be one of the most gorgeous buildings in the world when completed...

 

[null]

i think they are 2 different towers

new Beijing CCTV Center(shown here)

Beijing CCTV Headquarter(the loop building,canceled??)

 

[Vertigo]

Amazing building. Cannot wait to see it completed.

Does anyone have a map of Beijing with the location of CCTV on it?

 

[l'etranger]

The construction started back in September.

Construction workers are working under groundlevel at the moment, digging away sand, to make way for the fundaments and an underground shelter (which is apparently a standard procedure in China for new buildings). The situation about two weeks ago was around 10 stories or 35 meters deep.

 

[Þróndeimr]

The construction started back in September.

Construction workers are working under groundlevel at the moment, digging away sand, to make way for the fundaments and an underground shelter (which is apparently a standard procedure in China for new buildings). The situation about two weeks ago was around 10 stories or 35 meters deep.

Thanks, i remember it when you say it. But when was the main building supose to start rising?

 

[l'etranger]

I'm not sure if they started construction on both buildings, or which building my description applies to. I got this information from a report by a local radio station.

I have no clue when the main building will be visible from the groundlevel.

 

[10025]

Answer to Vertigo's question "Does anyone have a map of Beijing with the location of CCTV on it"--

The new CCTV complex is in Beijing's CBD.

Above is the old CCTV building. It was built in 1987 and will be in use until completion of the new complex.

Answer to ahmedr's question "Just have one question, what's the name of the building on the left of the bottom render and what is it for"--
The name of the building is Television Cultural Center (TVCC). It's part of the CCTV complex. Its main body will be a five-star hotel, and TVCC itself will be located in the apron part.
TVCC as seen from CCTV main building

Some further information
(Source: http://cache.baidu.com/c?word=tv,cu...tpage.asp?BoardID=5&ID=38&b=0&a=11&user=baidu):
CCTV's new 553,000 m2 headquarters will be among the first of 300 towers to be constructed in Beijing's new Central Business District. The total construction cost is estimated at 600 Million Euro. The project will be completed for the Beijing Olympics in 2008.

The CCTV headquarters will be one of the first European skyscrapers to be built in China. As part of an international architectural competition organized by the Beijing International Tendering Co., the scheme presented by the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) was awarded the contract on December 20.

The OMA scheme was chosen from ten competitors, including Dominique Perrault from France and KPF and SOM from the United States. An international jury that included architect Arata Isozaki and critic Charles Jencks selected three teams for the second phase: Toyo Ito & Associates in collaboration with FCJZ of Beijing, the East China Architecture & Design Institute, and OMA.

On the 10-hectare site in the new Central Business District in Beijing, the OMA proposal consolidates the program in an iconic configuration of two high-rise buildings:

The new CCTV headquarters, at a height of 230m and a floor area of 405,000m2, combines administration with news, broadcasting, studios and program production - the entire process of TV making - in a sequence of interconnected activities. 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 116,000 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.

A Media Park forms a landscape of public entertainment, outdoor filming areas and production studios as an extension of the central green axis of the CBD.

Rem Koolhaas and Ole Scheeren will be partners-in-charge. The OMA design team will consist of Shohei Shigematsu, Adrianne Fisher, Hiromasa Shirai, Anu Leinonen, Charles Berman and many others. Qingyun Ma from Shanghai will be advisor to the project.

The CCTV Headquarters will be realized in collaboration with ECADI, the East China Architecture & Design Institute from Shanghai.

Cecil Balmond and his team of Ove Arup & Partners will be responsible for the structural and mechanical engineering.

OMA will collaborate with its media and research branch AMO.

 

[FM 2258]

Bejing looks cooler than Washington D.C.

I'm jealous. ....

 

[Þróndeimr]

I've been searching around, and have found several articles which is really concerning.

"Even as ecstatic reviews of the Seattle library continue to pour in, rumors are swirling that his largest commision to date, a $730 million, 5-million-square-foot headquarters for Chinese state television in Beijing, is in danger being canceled." (from NYTimes)

"Chinese prime minster Wen Jiabao has reportedly decided to halt work on the project as part of a political move to win favour among the country's poor." (from BD)

"Speculation is mounting that Rem Koolhaas's China Central Television headquarters in Beijing has been shelved by China's leaders." (from BD)