Shanghai World Financial Center, Pudong, Shanghai, China
Winner: Paul Katz, FAIA, Kohn Pederson Fox Associates
Award: Honor Award for Architecture

The 101-story Shanghai World Financial Center, the world’s tallest building by height to top of roof (487 meters), plays a civic role in the city. At 474 meters, its observatory is the highest publicly accessible built space in the world. With offices, conference facilities, retail, dining, and hotel, the project activates the ground plane through function-specific entrances at its base.

Shaped by the intersection of two sweeping arcs and a square prism— representing ancient Chinese symbols of heaven and earth, respectively the tower’s tapering form optimizes programmatic efficiencies. The portal carved through its upper levels relieves the enormous wind pressures on the building.

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