Helmut Jahn designed a congress center for the capital of Qatar with a 550 m tower (112 floors). Reminiscent of an obelisk, this building will correspond to the standard functional scheme: offices - hotel - housing. The upper part of the building, 60 m high, will be a glass cylinder hidden behind curtain walls, resting on a supporting structure in the shape of a spiral. The premises of a closed club will be located inside. The congress center itself will be a hangar-like structure, almost entirely occupied by exhibition halls; the energetic line of the "wing" of its roof should contrast with the vertical of the skyscraper. The complex should be built by 2012.
In Shenzhen, they are going to implement an even more ambitious plan: the Chinese insurance corporation Pingan Insurance is going to build there the tallest building in the country, which will become its headquarters. Pingan International Financial Center will reach a height of 646 m (115 floors). Its crystalline volume, culminating in a high spire, will combine glazing stripes with stone slabs cladding. A huge square will be located below, and a six-storey shopping center should appear directly at the foot of the building, connecting the main tower of the complex with an additional one - a hotel "only" 307 m high. Construction work is scheduled to be completed in 2013.
But the most daring project will be implemented in London: although its physical size is significantly inferior to its Asian counterparts, the financial situation in the UK is much worse, and this state has been going on for almost a year. Despite this, developers Sellar Property Group, which will begin construction of the tallest building in Europe, Renzo Piano's Shard London Bridge next month, have also announced the construction of a Herzog & de Meuron residential complex next to the tower. These will be joined together by three slender, slightly curved towers with heights of 100, 200 and 250 m, respectively - making this the tallest residential building in the country. The project is planned to be presented to the public in February this year. This is not the first time Sellar Property Group has worked with Swiss architects: it was this company that commissioned Herzog & de Meuron to design the new stadium for Portsmouth.
