Canton Tower

Guangzhou
Height
1
To Tip:
Height is measured from the level of the lowest, significant, open-air, pedestrian entrance to the highest point of the building, irrespective of material or function of the highest element (i.e., including antennae, flagpoles, signage and other functional-technical equipment).
604 m / 1,982 ft
2
Architectural:
Height is measured from the level of the lowest, significant, open-air, pedestrian entrance to the architectural top of the building, including spires, but not including antennae, signage, flag poles or other functional-technical equipment. This measurement is the most widely utilized and is employed to define the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) rankings of the "World's Tallest Buildings."
604 m / 1,982 ft
3
Occupied:
Height is measured from the level of the lowest, significant, open-air, pedestrian entrance to the highest occupied floor within the building.
448.8 m / 1,472 ft
1 2 3 Canton Tower
  Floors
Above Ground
The number of floors above ground should include the ground floor level and be the number of main floors above ground, including any significant mezzanine floors and major mechanical plant floors. Mechanical mezzanines should not be included if they have a significantly smaller floor area than the major floors below. Similarly, mechanical penthouses or plant rooms protruding above the general roof area should not be counted. Note: CTBUH floor counts may differ from published accounts, as it is common in some regions of the world for certain floor levels not to be included (e.g., the level 4, 14, 24, etc. in Hong Kong).
37
Below Ground
The number of floors below ground should include all major floors located below the ground floor level.
2
Height 604 m / 1,982 ft
Floors 37
Official Name
The current legal building name.

Canton Tower

Other Names
Other names the building has commonly been known as, including former names, common informal names, local names, etc.

Guangzhou TV Tower

Type
CTBUH collects data on two major types of tall structures: 'Buildings' and 'Telecommunications / Observation Towers.' A 'Building' is a structure where at least 50% of the height is occupied by usable floor area. A 'Telecommunications / Observation Tower' is a structure where less than 50% of the structure's height is occupied by usable floor area. Only 'Buildings' are eligible for the CTBUH 'Tallest Buildings' lists.

Tower

Status
Completed
Architecturally Topped Out
Structurally Topped Out
Under Construction
Proposed
On Hold
Never Completed
Vision
Competition Entry
Canceled
Proposed Renovation
Under Renovation
Renovated
Under Demolition
Demolished

Completed

Completion

2010

Country
The CTBUH follows the United Nations's definition of Country, and thus uses the lists and codes established by that organization.

China

City
The CTBUH follows the United Nations's definition of City, and thus uses the lists and codes established by that organization.

Guangzhou

Address

Yiyuan Road

Function
A single-function tall building is defined as one where 85% or more of its usable floor area is dedicated to a single usage. Thus a building with 90% office floor area would be said to be an "office" building, irrespective of other minor functions it may also contain.

A mixed-use tall building contains two or more functions (or uses), where each of the functions occupy a significant proportion of the tower's total space. Support areas such as car parks and mechanical plant space do not constitute mixed-use functions. Functions are denoted on CTBUH "Tallest Building" lists in descending order, e.g., "hotel/office" indicates hotel function above office function.

Telecommunications / Observation

Structural Material
All-Steel
Both the main vertical/lateral structural elements and the floor spanning systems are constructed from steel. Note that a building of steel construction with a floor system of concrete planks or concrete slab on top of steel beams is still considered an “all-steel” structure as the concrete elements are not acting as the primary structure.

All-Concrete
Both the main vertical/lateral structural elements and the floor spanning systems are constructed from concrete which has been cast in place and utilizes steel reinforcement bars and/or steel reinforced concrete which has been precast as individual components and assembled together on-site.

All-Timber
Both the main vertical/lateral structural elements and the floor spanning systems are constructed from timber. An all-timber structure may include the use of localized non-timber connections between timber elements. Note that a building of timber construction with a floor system of concrete planks or concrete slab on top of timber beams is still considered an “all-timber” structure as the concrete elements are not acting as the primary structure.

Mixed-Structure
Utilizes distinct systems (e.g. all-steel, all-concrete, all-timber), one on top of the other. For example, a Steel Over Concrete indicates an all-steel structural system located on top of an all-concrete structural system, with the opposite true of Concrete Over Steel.

Composite
A combination of materials (e.g. steel, concrete, timber) are used together in the main structural elements. Examples include buildings which utilize: steel columns with a floor system of reinforced concrete beams; a steel frame system with a concrete core; concrete-encased steel columns; concrete-filled steel tubes; etc. Where known, the CTBUH database breaks out the materials used within a composite building’s primary structural elements.

Composite

Official Website

Canton Tower

Height
Architectural
Height is measured from the level of the lowest, significant, open-air, pedestrian entrance to the architectural top of the building, including spires, but not including antennae, signage, flag poles or other functional-technical equipment. This measurement is the most widely utilized and is employed to define the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) rankings of the "World's Tallest Buildings."

604 m / 1,982 ft

To Tip
Height is measured from the level of the lowest, significant, open-air, pedestrian entrance to the highest point of the building, irrespective of material or function of the highest element (i.e., including antennae, flagpoles, signage and other functional-technical equipment).
604 m / 1,982 ft
Occupied
Height is measured from the level of the lowest, significant, open-air, pedestrian entrance to the highest occupied floor within the building.
448.8 m / 1,472 ft
Observatory
488 m / 1,601 ft
Floors Above Ground
The number of floors above ground should include the ground floor level and be the number of main floors above ground, including any significant mezzanine floors and major mechanical plant floors. Mechanical mezzanines should not be included if they have a significantly smaller floor area than the major floors below. Similarly, mechanical penthouses or plant rooms protruding above the general roof area should not be counted. Note: CTBUH floor counts may differ from published accounts, as it is common in some regions of the world for certain floor levels not to be included (e.g., the level 4, 14, 24, etc. in Hong Kong).

37

Floors Below Ground
The number of floors below ground should include all major floors located below the ground floor level.

2

# of Elevators
Number of Elevators refers to the total number of elevator cars (not shafts) contained within a particular building (including public, private and freight elevators).

6

Top Elevator Speed
Top Elevator Speed refers to the top speed capable of being achieved by an elevator within a particular building, measured in meters per second.

10 m/s

Tower GFA
Tower GFA refers to the total gross floor area within the tower footprint, not including adjoining podiums, connected buildings or other towers within the development.

114,054 m² / 1,227,667 ft²

Construction Schedule

2004

Proposed

2005

Construction Start

2010

Completed

Structural Engineer
Design

The Design Engineer is usually involved in the front end design, typically taking the leadership role in the Schematic Design and Design Development, and then a monitoring role through the CD and CA phases.

MEP Engineer
Design

The Design Engineer is usually involved in the front end design, typically taking the leadership role in the Schematic Design and Design Development, and then a monitoring role through the CD and CA phases.

Other Consultant

Other Consultant refers to other organizations which provided significant consultation services for a building project (e.g. wind consultants, environmental consultants, fire and life safety consultants, etc).

Lighting
Material Supplier

Material Supplier refers to organizations which supplied significant systems/materials for a building project (e.g. elevator suppliers, facade suppliers, etc).

Owner/Developer
Guangzhou New TV Tower Co., Ltd.
Architect
Design

Usually involved in the front end design, with a "typical" condition being that of a leadership role through either Schematic Design or Design Development, and then a monitoring role through the CD and CA phases.

Information Based Architecture
Architect of Record

Usually takes on the balance of the architectural effort not executed by the "Design Architect," typically responsible for the construction documents, conforming to local codes, etc. May often be referred to as "Executive," "Associate," or "Local" Architect, however, for consistency CTBUH uses the term "Architect of Record" exclusively.

Guangzhou Design Institute
Structural Engineer
Design

The Design Engineer is usually involved in the front end design, typically taking the leadership role in the Schematic Design and Design Development, and then a monitoring role through the CD and CA phases.

MEP Engineer
Design

The Design Engineer is usually involved in the front end design, typically taking the leadership role in the Schematic Design and Design Development, and then a monitoring role through the CD and CA phases.

Contractor
Main Contractor

The main contractor is the supervisory contractor of all construction work on a project, management of sub-contractors and vendors, etc. May be referred to as "Construction Manager," however, for consistency CTBUH uses the term "Main Contractor" exclusively.

Guangzhou Municipal Construction Group JV; Shanghai Construction Group
Other Consultant

Other Consultant refers to other organizations which provided significant consultation services for a building project (e.g. wind consultants, environmental consultants, fire and life safety consultants, etc).

Landscape
Guangzhou Design Institute
Lighting
Material Supplier

Material Supplier refers to organizations which supplied significant systems/materials for a building project (e.g. elevator suppliers, facade suppliers, etc).

Paint/Coating
Jotun

CTBUH Initiatives

Vertical Transportation: Ascent & Acceleration

12 September 2017 - CTBUH Research

A New Leader for Telecom Towers

19 February 2012 - CTBUH Research

 

Research

05 July 2023

We All Love to Get High: Optimizing Observation Deck Design

Terri Meyer Boake

Height is aspirational, and having the best view from that height has become a driver in contemporary tall building design. Likewise, observation decks are a...

About Canton Tower

Located on the banks of the Pear (Zhujiang) River, Canton Tower stands across from the new main central business district of Guangzhou and creates a visual axis through the center of the city’s tallest skyscraper cluster. The axis begins in a park space to the south of the tower footprint and travels northward, crossing the river and running through the center of a large rooftop park spanning the top of a subterranean mall ringed with high-rise buildings. Continuing northward, the axis passes through additional open spaces, bisects a stadium and ends at CITIC Plaza, Guangzhou’s first supertall building, completed in 1996.

Canton Tower was constructed as a composite tube-in-tube design, featuring a reinforced concrete core containing all of the tower’s services and vertical transportation which is then set inside an outer structure made up of a steel lattice. The two structural components then frame a series of smaller structures suspended within the tower at different elevations. The smaller structures contain occupiable spaces with elliptical floor plates which rotate in orientation over the height of the tower. The rotation is then expressed to the outside of the tower through the twisting form of the steel skeletal structure, further emphasized through tapering inward to midpoint before expanding outward towards the uppermost levels. The roofs of the smaller structures within the tower have publicly accessible skygardens, allowing visitors to experience the variations of weather at different heights while serving as outdoor observation decks.

The slender form of the tower’s design makes it especially vulnerable to sway on windy days, creating the possibility for stresses on the structure and uncomfortable conditions for the occupants. As such, the design required the inclusion of a tuned mass damper system, the final compilation of which is comprised of a hybrid mass damper utilizing two 650 ton water tanks supplemented by motorized active mass dampers working in synch as the structure begins to move.

After sunset, the entire structure is illuminated in a light display of changing colors through an integrated system of LED fixtures; ensuring Canton Tower is a highly visible feature of the Guangzhou skyline during the day or night.

Quick Facts

  • Has world`s highest post office at 428 meters.

05 July 2023

We All Love to Get High: Optimizing Observation Deck Design

Terri Meyer Boake

Height is aspirational, and having the best view from that height has become a driver in contemporary tall building design. Likewise, observation decks are a...

24 August 2015

World’s Highest Observation Decks

CTBUH Research

Perhaps no element of a tall building is more closely related to the pure pleasure of standing high in the sky and taking in the...

01 June 2012

A New Leader for Telecom Towers

CTBUH Research

With the recent completion of two megatall telecommunication/observation towers it is perhaps time to review these structures and also explain why they are distinguished from...

01 February 2012

Hybrid Mass Dampers for Canton Tower

Ping Tan, Yanhui Liu & Fu Lin Zhou, Guangzhou University; Jun Teng, Harbin Institute of Technology

The paper presents an analysis of the design and application of novel Hybrid Mass Dampers for Canton Tower in Guangzhou, China. The HMD is composed...

12 September 2017

Vertical Transportation: Ascent & Acceleration

CTBUH partnered with Guinness World Records to identify the commercial building with the fastest elevator speeds and longest vertical runs.

19 February 2014

A New Leader for Telecom Towers

With the completion of two megatall telecommunication/observation towers it is perhaps time to review these structures and also explain why they are distinguished from other buildings.