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New Century Global Centre
| July 12th, 2013 at 9:47:42 PM permalink | |
| Pacomartin Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 1068 Posts: 12569 | New Century Global Centre just opened in Chengdu, China. One building has 3 times the square footage of the Pentagon, and is 60% of the area of the City of London (the ancient Roman City) Right now it has more square footage of space than any other building in the world, although historically the now demolished USA K-25 uranium enrichment facility of the Manhattan Project was larger. Besides a massive shopping center it has offices, conference rooms, a university complex, two commercial centers, hotels, an IMAX cinema, a "Mediterranean village", a pirate ship a skating rink, an artificial beach, a giant screen 150 metres long and 40 metres high will form the horizon and offer sunrises and sunsets. Would such a place be of interest to you? Would you ever travel to this city to see such a manmade monster?  |
| July 13th, 2013 at 9:33:24 AM permalink | |
| TheCesspit Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 23 Posts: 1929 | That 60% of the size of the City of London is the floor space, not the space it takes up on the ground (the Square Mile is... a square mile in area, while this building is about 1/4mile square foot print). I don't quite get how they have 1.7 million square meters of floor space (500x400 = 200,000 square meters, which implies 9 floors, but from the pictures there's a lot of open space in there that doesn't lend itself to multiple floors). It is 5 times the size of West Edmonton Mall in floor space, just to give myself a frame of reference. It is said that your life flashes before your eyes just before you die.... it's called Life |
| July 13th, 2013 at 10:04:08 AM permalink | |
| Fleastiff Member since: Oct 27, 2012 Threads: 62 Posts: 7831 | Whatever the architecture, what does it offer? A mall in West Edmonton may be known for its size and variety but is largely valued by the stores and their offerings. Something can be large and impressive but its still a trek and in many countries treks to remote sites lack infrastructure of hotels and restaurants and the like. Look at some of the tourists traps in modern China. English lesson teas at rip-off tea houses, free meal included but heaven help you if you don't order the extra and very much higher priced dishes, etc. How "impressed" with architecture does a tourist have to be if he is shaken down at a hotel and at a tea house? City of London? Its never meant that much to me. I know the Queen has to stop and call out prior to entering it and that the police of the City of London are far different than the London Metropolitan Police but other than that ... big deal. |
| July 13th, 2013 at 11:06:42 AM permalink | |
| Pacomartin Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 1068 Posts: 12569 |
Well the gross leasable retail space at West Edmonton is 350K meters sq, while New Century is 400K which is a difference of 15%. Both West Edmonton and New Century have attractions outside of the retail space. The artificial indoor beach is more of an Asian thing than in the Americas. As the floor space is indeed 8.8 times the actual acreage, a lot of it must be used in the office and hotel spaces which are over 70% of the total space. So it was a bit of a cheat to compare the building to the City of London which is nicknamed The Square Mile. The footprint of the New Century Global Centre is about 8% of a square mile.
The Queen is met by the Lord Mayor when entering the City of London (a tradition that dates back to King John and the magna Carta in the 12th century). It is widely believed that she must obtain his permission, but actually she is normally accompanied by the Mayor. She rarely goes into the City. The Queen must ask permission to enter the House of Commons in Parliament in the City of Whitehall. An entirely different tradition that dates back to the civil wars of the 17th century. She is refused entry the first time, as a matter of principle, but is granted access on the second request. The two great tourist attractions of the City of London are the Tower of London and St Paul's Cathedral. The Barbican Center is the biggest attraction built in the 1980's. It is almost entirely full of buildings with companies that work in finance, and less than 8000 people live there today. |
| July 14th, 2013 at 10:18:56 PM permalink | |
| AcesAndEights Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 6 Posts: 351 | I've been to the mall in Edmonton years ago (early 90s I think). I wouldn't mind hitting this one up some day. "You think I'm joking." -EvenBob |
| July 15th, 2013 at 1:28:37 AM permalink | |
| Pacomartin Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 1068 Posts: 12569 | It's kind of amazing that a city that until 2005 had only three buildings over 330' (all between 500' and 525') should suddenly sprout such incredible buildings. But it is considered one of the best cities in China to invest in, given the new urbanization of remote areas of China. |
| July 15th, 2013 at 2:01:26 PM permalink | |
| Pacomartin Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 1068 Posts: 12569 | The Clock Tower building in Mecca has 17 million square feet (as opposed to 18 million at New Century Global Centre). The clock is an unbelievable 600 meters high, which is still a distant second to Burj Khalifi, but still bigger than anything else in the world. Of course, there is no way to see this building without converting to Islam first.  |
| July 16th, 2013 at 2:38:24 PM permalink | |
| AcesAndEights Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 6 Posts: 351 |
Buh? I had no idea non-Muslims were prohibited from entering Mecca. "You think I'm joking." -EvenBob |
| July 16th, 2013 at 8:37:01 PM permalink | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Pacomartin Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 1068 Posts: 12569 | This statement is in WikiTravel for Mecca: WARNING Non-Muslims are strictly prohibited from entering the city of Mecca. The penalty is deportation from the country. Documentation will be checked upon entry and anyone not showing proof of being Muslim will be denied entry. As a solitary exception, the Mecca bus terminal (outside city limits) is open to all. The sign on the road to the city is pretty clear.  America getting skyscraper envy as Saudi Arabia plans tallest building in the world Here are the top 50 completed or under construction (no proposed buildings are listed). That is the ESB at the bottom.
The previous 1 World Trade Center had a top floor of 1347' and a roof at 1368' with an antenna spire 1727'. This one is not really that much different in height as the roof and top floor will basically be the same height, but the antenna spire has become an architectural feature now, and will reach the symbolic height of 1776'. Height is measured from the level of the lowest, significant, open-air, pedestrian entrance to the architectural top of the building, including spires, but not including antennae, signage, flag poles or other functional-technical equipment. So the old WTC had an "antenna spire", but the new one has an "architectural spire". As I have said before, the Empire State Building has only 26' from it's occupied floor to it's architectural peak. It has a 204' antenna on top which doesn't count. When Donald Trump put a 273' "architectural spire" just so that his building was taller than the ESB, I consider him a spoiler. He was going to make it even bigger so that it topped the Willis Tower, but a combination of the mayor and his prospective tenants talked him out of the idea. People didn't want to purchase apartments in the tallest building in America after 911. This drawing arranges US building by highest floor, not highest architectural detail  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||