The official handover ceremony for the CCTV Headquarters has taken place in Beijing, China.
As part of the original design team, Arup was commissioned by the architect, OMA, to provide structural, MEP, geotechnical and fire engineering design, as well as security consulting services.
The OMA design for the CCTV headquarters is formed of two towers – 234m tall and 194m tall – that lean towards each other and form a 14-storey ‘L-shaped’ overhang. This unconventional tower posed extraordinary structural challenges for Arup.
“We are delighted to see the handover of this extraordinary building. Throughout this multi-disciplinary project, we drew upon our global expertise to propose the building’s design criteria, and to understand and analyse its seismic performance.”
- Arup Director, Michael Kwok
“We carried out an unprecedented level of performance-based analysis which included examining all 10,060 elements in the primary structure under all credible seismic conditions. The highly detailed engineering was explained to, and approved by, a Government-appointed panel of structural experts.”
- Arup Director, Rory McGowan
Led by Rem Koolhaas, former partner Ole Scheeren (until 2010), and partner David Gianotten, this is OMA’s first major building in China. The Arup team who worked on the OMA design was led by Cecil Balmond (now at Balmond Studio), Rory McGowan, Chris Carroll and Michael Kwok.
Arup’s diverse role in the project involved co-ordinating design and engineering teams across the firm from London, Beijing, Hong Kong and Shenzhen.