HANG LUNG CHINA
Location : Qingnian Street, Shenhe District, Shenyang
Main Usage : Commercial, office, hotel and serviced apartment
Total Gross Floor Area : 800,000 sq.m
Design Architect : Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates, USA
Project Descriptions:
The Contract for National Land Use Right was signed with Shenyang Plan and Land Resources Bureau in August 2006.
Shenyang City Hang Lung Plaza is located on the south side of City Plaza, along Qingnian Street, Shenhe District of Shenyang City.
The City Plaza is the definitive landmark in Shenyang City, with the Liaoning Grand Theatre and the Museum of the Liaoning Province to the east, the Municipal Government Building to the west and the central business district to the north. The City Plaza was named one of the "Best National Cultural Plaza" by the Ministry of Culture in 2006.
Qingnian Street, known as the "Golden Corridor", runs along the centre of Shenyang City and forms a major part of the urban development strategy of this capital city of Liaoning Province. The Golden Corridor offers easy access to Shenyang Taoxian International Airport in the south and Beiling Park in the north. Beiling Park was endorsed as one of the key national parks by the Ministry of Construction.
The newly proposed No. 2 metro line will run along The Golden Corridor with subway stations at the City Plaza and Qingnian Street.
World-class shopping mall, office towers, 6-star hotels and serviced apartments are to be constructed. The twin office towers rising above 300m will become the tallest office buildings in the northeast.
The Phase 1 construction was commenced in April 2007.
SPIRE HOTEL...CHICAGO
T
he city where the skyscraper was born just can't get enough of these supertowers. The Chicago Spire is the latest in a series of super-tall projects proposed and erected since the mid 1990's. Some, like the Trump International Hotel and Tower, come to fruition. Others, like 7 South Dearborn, do not. The opposition from NIMBY residents in Streeterville and scoffs from other parts of the city have mostly been quieted now that construction is well underway and proceeding swiftly.
This is the first Chicago project for Spanish architectural superstar Santiago Calatrava, though he has graced the shores of Lake Michigan before with the Milwaukee Art Museum's Quadracci Pavilion. Its position at the point where the Chicago River drains Lake Michigan puts it in the center of the city's skyline, and out in front of any of the thousands of photographs taken by tourists cruising the lake each day.
In its original form, this building lived up to its name. It was truly is a spire with a tapering form topped by a needle. The final design eliminated the needle piercing the sky and developed a more blunted, but still graceful, form. In a New York Times article about the building, it was compared to a drill bit, a blade of grass, and a tall twisting tree. Others have compared it to a lighthouse, which could end up being its nickname because of its location. The inability to quickly categorize the construction is what you come to expect from a Calatrava design -- something both geometric and organic. Something that take a simple form and twists it in the wind like so many of his other bridges and buildings. In this case, each of the building's floors are anchored to a central column, but offset. Then each floor is rotated slightly as the tower rises higher. The result is, indeed, something very much like a drill bit. The original plan called for the bottom 20 floors to be occupied by a hotel, while the rest of the building was to be filled with 1,200 luxury condominiums. The final configuration has this building entirely residential. Much to the disappointment of tourists and skyscraper fans, there are no plans for a public observation deck.
The biggest obstacle to completing this building was zoning. The parcel of land selected was only zoned for as 540-foot tall building and a 350-foot tall building. However, the developer managed to assuage the city, neighborhood groups, and local open space activists by developing a riverfront plaza with six stories of parking underneath. The developer is also going to put up $9 million to help create DuSable Park. The City of Chicago has wanted to create that park on a neighboring piece of disused industrial land for decades, but could never come up with the money. The developer will use the future parkland during construction, and then afterward turn it over to the city with the cash that will help it become public space.
Alden Hotel Splügenschloss (5 stars)
The Alden Hotel Splügenschloss is the smallest 5-star boutique hotel of Zurich, located in the heart of the city on a very quiet place, right in the business and financial district.
Enjoy the elegance and comfort of individually decorated rooms and suites, which are outfitted with modern amenities such as high-speed internet (cable or wireless), flat-screen television sets with in-room entertainment, jacuzzi bathtubs and gym equipment (on request).
Each suite consists of a generously-sized living room, a bedroom and a spacious bathroom with a whirlpool, a separate shower and a separate toilet. The living room of the large suites allows you to host guests in a private atmosphere.
At the award-winning Alden Restaurant & Bar, a fresh and seasonal “cuisine du marché” is served, and in summer guests enjoy “al fresco” dining in front of the house.
You can reach Lake Zurich, attractive parks, the concert hall, the opera, the famous Bahnhofstrasse with luxurious boutiques and the old town within a 5- to 10-minute walk.
Rooms: 22
WIDDER HOTEL ZURICH
The Widder Hotel is located in a tranquil neighbourhood of downtown Zürich. It consists of eight carefully restored historic townhouses.
Its 42 guest rooms and 7 suites as well as the banquet and meeting rooms were integrated in the old buildings with great sensibility and an innovative architectural approach.
The Widder Hotel offers you everything you can expect from a five-star house. Plus another asset that has become very rare: privacy. In every respect.
Rooms: 49
Hotel Chain: Design Hotels
Hotel Facilities
General
Restaurant – Bar – 24-Hour Front Desk – Newspapers – Garden – Terrace – Rooms/Facilities for Disabled Guests – Elevator – Express Check-In/Check-Out – Safety Deposit Box – Heating – Design Hotel – Luggage Storage – Allergy-Free Room Available
Activities
Fitness Centre – Massage
Services
Room Service – Meeting/Banquet Facilities – Airport Shuttle – Business Centre – Babysitting/Child Services – Laundry – Dry Cleaning – VIP Room Facilities – Breakfast in the Room – Ironing Service – Bridal Suite – Currency Exchange – Shoe Shine – Car Rental – Tour Desk – Fax/Photocopying – Ticket Service
Internet
Wireless internet is available in the entire hotel and costs CHF 5.00 per 30 minutes.
Guest Parking
Private parking is possible on site (reservation is needed) and costs CHF 35.00 per day.
Hotel Policies
These are general hotel policies. As they may vary per room type; please also check the room description.
Check-In
14:00 hours
Check-Out
12:00 hours
Cancellation
If cancelled up to 1 day before the date of arrival, no fee will be charged.
If cancelled later or in case of no-show, the first night will be charged.
Children and extra beds
All children under 3 years stay free of charge for cots.
All children under 6 years stay free of charge for extra beds.
All older children or adults are charged CHF 120.00 per night and person for extra beds.
Maximum capacity of extra beds/babycots in a room is 2.
Extra beds and baby cots are upon request and need to be confirmed by the hotel.
Supplements will not be calculated automatically in the total costs and have to be paid separately in the hotel.
Pets
Pets are allowed on request. Charges may be applicable.
The Asian Bubble Bursts
Two International Finance Centre
AKA Two IFC
Location: Hong Kong
Year completed: 2003
Height: 1,335 feet (90 storeys), plus a 29-foot antenna array
Claim to fame: Two International Finance Centre was the first giant to be completed in the 21st Century, and the first to be opened after the destruction of the World Trade Center buildings.
In the wake of the events of September 11, 2001 and the “Petronas Height Controversy,” the building opened with little fanfare regarding the fact that its roof is 13 feet higher than that of the Malaysian towers. By this measure, it was the fourth-tallest building built in history, surpassed only by the World Trade Center buildings and the Sears Tower.
This building also has a spire component and an antenna array. The 23-foot spires (which have a pair of elevator lobbies to access the roof) are arranged like a pair of horns on the top of the building, with the broadcast antennas between them. Counting the structural spires (but not the antennas), Two IFC is 1,358 feet tall, or four feet short of Number Two World Trade Center, which tragically did not exist anymore by the time Two IFC opened.
SEARS TOWER .......TAIWAN
Taipei 101
Location: Taipei, Taiwan
Year completed: 2004
Height: 1,474 feet (101 storeys), plus a 197-foot spire.
Claim to fame: The argument over which was the tallest on the world — the Sears Tower or the Petronas Towers — was settled in 2004.
The Taipei 101 captured three of the four record categories established by the World Council on Tall Buildings when it was completed. It usurped ‘highest roof’ and ‘highest occupied floor’ from the Sears Tower in Chicago, and took the ‘highest structural feature’ (decorative do-dad) from the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur.
The 1,815-foot CN Tower remained the world’s tallest freestanding structure on land, but only by a margin of 144 feet over the 1,671-foot top of the Taipei 101. (Why didn’t they just go for it?)
