Jin Mao Building
Completed in 1998, Shanghai, China
88 stories, 420.5 meters high
China‘s first and world’s third tallest building
<49_01>Completed on August 28th, 1998, the Jin Mao Building is China‘s tallest, the world’s third tallest, and the last Jumbo of the 20th century. With an east-meets-west design signifying Shanghai’s emergence as a modern global city, Jin Mao follows the multi-use paradigm, offering retail at its base, offices above, and the Grand Hyatt’s World’s Highest Hotel occupying the upper 38 floors.
The Chinese lucky number eight figures prominently into the tower’s composition. Each segment’s height is reduced by one-eighth of the original base height and continues until the segment height is eight levels. At this point the Hotel begins and each segment reduces one-eighth of the 8-level segment until it reaches the 88th level. Eights also appear in Jin Mao’s advanced structural engineering system which fortifies the building against the typhoon winds and earthquakes typical of the region. The composite steel-and-concrete structure features eight mega columns of concrete and eight of steel situated around the tower’s concrete core.
Shanghai Museum
The new Shanghai Museum, a combination of tradition and modern art, was constructed in People’s Square in 1994. It is one of the most modern exhibition facilities in China, replete with climate-controlled galleries featuring the latest lighting and display techniques, a conservation laboratory, an auditorium, teahouse, gift shops, and a cafe.
Sheathed in pink granite imported from Spain, the massive five-storey structure consists of a circular disc floating horizontally above a rectangular block. Four handle-like arches rise from the roof, creating a composition unmistakably reminiscent of an ancient Chinese bronze, an impression reinforced by the glyph that appears on the rounded wall above the main entrance.
The interior has a marble-paved central atrium surrounded by 14-carpeted galleries, most with low-ceilings to accommodate modest-scaled objects. The halls are filled with rotating displays of bronzes, ceramics, paintings, calligraphies, coins, jades, statues, lacquers and seals, furniture, and books, grouped by medium and arrayed chronologically.
With a collection of over 120,000 pieces of cultural relics in twelve categories, Shanghai Museum is especially famous for its treasures of bronzes, ceramics and paintings and calligraphy.
Shanghai Grand Theatre
Located at the People’s Square, the city’s heart, the Shanghai Grand Theatre was opened on August 27, 1998, facing the People’s Boulevard in the south, next to the Shanghai Municipal Building in the East. With its unique style and beautiful outlook, the theatre has become a representative building in Shanghai.
With a total construction area of 62,803 square meters and a total height of 38 meters, the Shanghai Grand Theatre has 10 storeys, two for underground, two for lofts and six on the ground. The new style architecture combines the Eastern and Western flavor. It looks like a crystal palace in the light at night as the white arc-shaped roof joins coherently with the light-sensitive glass curtain wall.
The lobby of Shanghai Grand Theatre is approximate 2,000 square meters with the white as its main tone, which signifies elegant and pure. A large chandelier, formed by six panpipes shaped lamp, is suspended in the lobby. The floor is made of a rare marble called “Greece Crystal White”.
The Shanghai Grand Theatre has three theatres. With 1,800 seats, the lyric theatre is divided into the auditorium, the 2nd-floor, the 3rd-floor and six balconies. The drama theatre has 750 seats and the studio theatre has 300 seats.
In addition to performances, the Shanghai Grand Theatre has a restaurant for tourists with an area of 1,600 square meters and a shopping center for audio-video products with an area of 2,500 square meters. Also there are VIP rooms, café and underground garage.
Shanghai Library
Founded in 1952, Shanghai library is a large comprehensive research public library. Before 1996, Shanghai Library has the total area of 35,000 square meters, consisting of the headquarter, situated on the Nanjing Road (West), and other branches located on the Xujiahui, Changle Road, Longwu Road and Huaihai Road. It is not until the December of 1996 that Shanghai Library moved to the present new building.
Shanghai Library new building, located in Huaihai Middle Road, is regarded as one of the ten typical cultural facilities in the city. It occupies the area of 3.1 hectare, with the construction area of 83,000 square meters. It takes 4 years before the new building completed in 1997.
At present, Shanghai Library has the total collections of 10 million books and 30 million research materials. The library has altogether 32 reading rooms, more than 3,000 reading seats and 20 personal research rooms. Besides, the library owns the well-equipped training center, exhibition halls and the different sized conference rooms. By using the advanced IT management system, the library can provide the readers with almost all kinds of information efficiently through the different methods.
（Source: chinaculture.org）
