Guangzhou, China
In the last years of the 20th century, China and Malaysia became the first countries outside of the U.S. to boast supertalls. The earliest examples completed in China were Shun Hing Square in Shenzhen and CITIC Plaza, located in Guangzhou, a city of more than 11 million and the capital of Guangdong Province, a major commercial and manufacturing region.
CITIC Plaza is an 80-story office tower situated at the center of the Tien He district in Guangzhou that acts as the nexus of a four-kilometer-long garden and boulevard connected to two major railway stations. The layout and symmetry of the complex are driven by pragmatic uses of office space but also complement the formality of the surrounding urban axis, with the main tower being the first sight that visitors see as they emerge from the main railway station. Constructed of concrete with a muted palette of grays and blues, the tower celebrates simplicity and mirrors the symmetry of the complex in its design, with two antenna-like spires atop the tower.