There’s been plenty of buzz in Queensland recently around an innovative prefabricated build helping tackle the state’s housing crisis, using precast panel construction to complete floors at remarkable speed. One Park Lane will use a similar approach for its lower levels, though the build isn’t identical the whole way up. It’s a great example of the kind of construction innovation shaping towers today, and it got us thinking about the wider world of supertall engineering. This week we’re taking a look at some of the technology and innovation found in other towers around the globe, several of which share engineering DNA with One Park Lane.
The Towers
- Ping An Finance Centre – Shenzhen, China – 599.1 metres
- Shanghai World Financial Center – Shanghai, China – 492 metres
- Yokohama Landmark Tower – Yokohama, Japan – 296.3 metres
- Australia 108 – Melbourne, Australia – 316.7 metres
Ping An Finance Centre: Tested by a Typhoon
Ping An Finance Centre in Shenzhen is the standout of the group. Standing 599.1 metres tall across 115 floors, it’s the fifth tallest building on Earth and the tallest in Shenzhenb. Its tapered, chevron-columned design was engineered specifically to cut wind loads, reducing them by around 35 to 40 percent before its damping system even comes into play. A large tuned mass damper sits on level 114, and the building even has a public exhibition dedicated to explaining how the system works.
That damper got a serious real-world test in September 2018, roughly eighteen months after the tower’s completion, when Super Typhoon Mangkhut tore through southern China with wind speeds recorded at over 50 metres per second (180km/h) in Shenzhen. Once the storm passed, Ping A Group confirmed a full inspection had found no substantial damage to the facade or structure. It stands as a strong real-world proof point for the kind of damping technology being used across the world’s tallest towers, One Park Lane included.
Shanghai World Financial Center and Yokohama Landmark Tower
Two more towers worth a mention share the same specific damper technology as One Park Lane: the tuned active damper (TAD), developed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.
Yokohama Landmark Tower, completed in 1993, was the first building in the world to use this active damping technology, with two units fitted on its 71st floor. It held the title of Japan’s tallest building for over two decades.
Where Do the Towers Rank Globally?
For context, here are the ten tallest buildings in the world today – with Jeddah to come at 1,000m:
| Rank | Building | City | Height |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Burj Khalifa | Dubai | 828 m |
| 2 | Merdeka 118 | Kuala Lumpur | 679 m |
| 3 | Shanghai Tower | Shanghai | 632 m |
| 4 | Makkah Royal Clock Tower | Mecca | 601 m |
| 5 | Ping An Finance Centre | Shenzhen | 599 m |
| 6 | Goldin Finance 117 | Tianjin | 597 m |
| 7 | Lotte World Tower | Seoul | 555 m |
| 8 | CTF Finance Centre | Guangzhou | 530 m |
| 9 | Tianjin CTF Finance Centre | Tianjin | 530 m |
| 10 | CITIC Tower | Beijing | 528 m |
One Park Lane, at 393.5 metres, sits comfortably inside the top 50 tallest buildings in the world, a remarkable place for a residential tower on the Gold Coast. Australia 108, by comparison, sits much further down the global list at 316.7 metres.
And Then There’s Jeddah at 1km
No conversation about supertall ambition is complete without mentioning Jeddah Tower in Saudi Arabia, targeting a height of around 1,000 metres, which would make it comfortably the tallest building ever constructed. It’s been a long and complicated build, with construction paused for several years before recommencing, and it remains one of the most closely watched projects in the world of tall buildings. Check out the latest article on that project here.
Contracts Update
On the contracts front, our legal team has confirmed they are confident contracts will be ready on or around the week of the 21st.
We’ve also been busy behind the scenes interviewing a number of solicitors to act on behalf of buyers who don’t already have their own legal representation. We’re pleased to say we now have some fantastic options to put forward.
More details on contracts and recommended solicitors will follow in next week’s update.
Did you read how we plan to build One Park Lane in last weeks article? Click here to read
