China has embarked on the construction of an 838-metre-tall building in Changsha that is billed as the “world’s tallest”.

An illustration of Sky City in Changsha, which will be 838 metres tall, 10 metres taller than the current title-holder, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. Photo: Xinhua
Changsha-based developer Broad Group recently held a ground-breaking ceremony in the capital city of Hunan to start building the 208-storey tower, according to the South China Morning Post.
The project is expected to be completed in April 2014 and will contain a total area of 1.05 million sqm (so, smaller than the Chengdu building). Estimated cost: RMB 5.25 billion.
Named “Sky City”, the mega building is designed to house various public facilities so the “building can serve as a city”, the developer said. It would house schools, an elderly care centre, hospital, offices in lower levels, while apartments and hotels would make up the upper levels.
The developer dazzled the world when it built a 30-storey hotel within 15 days. Now as it aims to construct the world’s tallest building in a mere nine months, experts are raising questions about safety and wondering whether the project is part of a technological revolution or a public relations campaign. Some construction experts have expressed doubts over the developer’s projections, questioning whether the astoundingly short construction period would be possible and whether the timeframe would compromise safety.
Using a novel modular construction method, Broad Group pre-manufactures most parts of the building in factories, and then assembles them once construction starts – like building with giant Lego pieces. In 2011, a time-lapse video shocked the world, showing Broad Group building a Changsha building at a rate of two days per floor. See here the incredible clip:
http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMzQxMTU2MTY4.html

China is home to five of the world’s top-10 tallest buildings, according to a list in Forbes magazine last year. According to Forbes plans for an even taller building are underway in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The Kingdom Tower has been approved for construction on a site that overlooks the Red Sea. If completed as designed, it will be the first building in the world to surpass the 1 Km mark.
Beijing has 62 super high-rise buildings, taller than 100 m according to the city’s fire department. The tallest hotel is Shangri-La China World Summit Wing Beijing (or, also known as WTC3). The highest point is 330 m with 82 floors and 2,041 steps (crazy stair runners are expected to do those in under 10 minutes in August!)
The under-construction Shanghai Tower (632 m high) was supposed to become China’s tallest building, now Suzhou is planned for Suzhou with a height to exceed 700 m; the blueprints still need to be finalized. But if Changsha goes ahead …