Global Best Projects Winner, Office: China Central Television Headquarters

Photo Courtesy of Arup

China Central Television's looping first-of-a-kind structure resulted from a close collaboration between OMA, three Arup offices and other consultants in Europe, Asia and America. The cooperation was essential in delivering the design (ENR 7/21/08 p. 30) for the building's external continuous tube system.

Judges noted the difficulties of gaining approval for a design outside the prescriptive Chinese building code and also the challenge of connecting the two towers in the 13-story overhang suspended 36 stories in the air. The linkage was accomplished at dawn when both towers were at the same ambient temperature to minimize differential movement.

Location Beijing

Project Team

Owner General Office of CCTV New Site Construction and Development, Beijing

Architect Office for Metropolitan Architecture, Rotterdam, Netherlands

General Contractor/CM China State Construction and Eng. Corp., Beijing

Structural and MEP Engineers Arup, Beijing, London, Hong Kong offices

Civil Engineer East China Architecture and Design Institute, Shanghai

After serving as editor-in-chief for 20 years, Jan Tuchman was former executive editor, leading content development for Engineering News-Record's wide-ranging series of live and virtual events. These include the Groundbreaking Women in Construction, the Emerging Leaders Forum, FutureTech and infrastructure forums in the New York/New Jersey region and Los Angeles. Tuchman is the 2023-24 chair of the American Society of Civil Engineers Industry Leaders Council, she is a member of the Columbia University Center for Infrastructure, Facilities and Public Spaces, and she is active in The Moles, a heavy construction leadership organization. Her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in journalism are from the University of Colorado in Boulder. Industry honors include the Ted C. Kennedy Award from the National Academy of Construction and the service and supply award from the Beavers. She lives in Park Slope, Brooklyn, and enjoys singing in the Brooklyn Community Chorus.

Post a comment to this article

Enhancing Collaboration and Surpassing Traditional Design-Build Methods with Progressive Design-Build

Earn: 1 PDH; 1 AIA LU/Elective; 0.1 IACET CEU

Progressive Design-Build is reshaping large infrastructure projects by addressing key issues with the traditional Design-Build approach. We'll explore how PDB fosters collaboration between owners, design-builders, and design teams to develop a well-defined scope and budget, plus minimizes cost overruns and reduces liability claims.