ARUP

At 330 metres high, the China World Trade Center Phase Three A is the tallest building in Beijing.  The 74-storey tower will include state-of-the-art offices, retail space, entertainment venues and a six-star hotel at the building's pinnacle.

Due to the seismic conditions in Beijing - and the constraints of Chinese Building Codes - the tallest buildings in Beijing were previously around 100 metres high, making Phase Three A quite a leap.

In order to achieve the necessary combination of strength and flexibility that will prevent the tower from collapsing during an earthquake, Arup introduced a new system to China that uses a 'composite steel plate shear wall' at the base of the tower.

The height and the scale of Phase Three A go far beyond the limits of existing structures in the city, so demonstrating that it will be able to withstand the high seismic activity in Beijing was a huge challenge.  

New techniques were used to examine the behavior of the building under different seismic levels. Such comprehensive tests have never been undertaken in China before and provoked a great deal of interest among Beijing's civil and structural engineers.

As the building rises the supporting perimeter columns are reduced at two points, in the middle and high zones of the tower, giving the tower its distinct tapering shape.

The structural design of the tower required a comprehensive and detailed exploration of innovative structural schemes.  The end result illustrates that the best balance between economics and the structural safety of a super high-rise building in a high seismic zone is achieved by extensive use of concrete and steel in the structure.

China World Trade Center Phase Three A is now one of the buildings representing modern Beijing City.