Shanghai World Financial Center
Supertall skyscraper in Pudong, Shanghai.
At a glance
| Source | Author | Role | In one line |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Skyscraper That Divided China | The B1M | subject | American architect William Pedersen (spelled Pettison/Pedison in the transcript) of KPF designed it for Japanese developer Minoru Mori with a circular void symbolising the heavens. |
The Skyscraper That Divided China — The B1M (2025)
Source: Original · Readwise highlight
This is the Shanghai World Financial Center. Almost the world’s tallest
- Role: subject
- In the video: American architect William Pedersen (spelled Pettison/Pedison in the transcript) of KPF designed it for Japanese developer Minoru Mori with a circular void symbolising the heavens. Plans were approved in 1993, work stopped after the 1997 crisis, and it was raised 32-40 m after 2001. Chinese public outrage that the circle resembled a Japanese flag forced a redesign in 2005 to a trapezoid, and it finished in 2008.
- Why it matters: It shows the symbolic power of tall buildings and the China skyscraper boom. It briefly held the roof-height record and is nicknamed the bottle opener.