Guangzhou International Finance Centre, Guangzhou, China

The paper discusses the planning and design of the Guangzhou International Finance Centre [GIFC] in Southern China, a ‘supertall’ multi-use building substantially completed in 2010.

The 103 storey, three-sided tower comprises 69 levels of office accommodation beneath a 34 level hotel. The building is structured with an externally braced perimeter tube using concrete filled tubes in a diagrid arrangement enclosed within a fully glazed building envelope. At a height of around 200m the central core is fragmented and replaced by an inner tubular frame, allowing a 115m high central void to penetrate the full height of the hotel to the roof.