Mystery of abandoned 600-metre skyscraper still left unfinished after 15 years
Gerrard Kaonga
Featured Image Credit: Stringer/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images/ Visual China Group via Getty Images/Visual China Group via Getty Images
Some Chinese citizens have had to deal with the greatest eyesore as a massive skyscraper has been left unfished for over a decade.
The Goldin Finance 117 building in Northern China was set to become the fifth-tallest building in the world when it was finished, but this seems highly unlikely at this point.
The construction of the massive structure in Xiqing District, Tianjin, China, commenced in 2008 but has had to deal with hurdle after hurdle since then.
The building, which has been nicknamed The Walking Stick due to its shape, was topped in 2015 at a height of 1,957 ft and has 128 storeys above ground.
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The skyscraper was initially meant to be the centre piece of a high-end residential area and business district in Tianjin as part of billionaire Pat Sutong’s Goldin Metropolitan scheme.
Not long after the project got underway, it was suspended in 2010 due to global economic turmoil between 2007 and 2009 period. In 2011 construction resumed but the Chinese government put a halt to the project indefinitely in 2018 when they put a ban on skyscrapers going beyond 1,640ft.
Sutong’s scheme was aimed at the super rich and was expected to have multiple residential residences with commercial towers, a wine museum, extensive gardens and even a polo club.
The Goldin Finance 117’s plans included a diamond-shaped atrium, the world’s highest observation deck, swimming pool, restaurant and sky bar.
The building has since been put for sale but has seemingly not attracted much attempt and there have been no attempts to resurrect it.
China’s ban on buildings of 1,640 ft was reportedly due to safety concerns. It also restricted the blind planning and construction of super high-rise skyscrapers, according to a translated document of the China’s Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development notice.
The statement also said: “Plagiarising, imitating, and copycatting" designs is prohibited in new public facilities.”
This move ultimately encouraged architects to focus on reviving Chinese cultre-styled buildings rather than imitating foreign styles.
“City constructions are the combination of a city's external image and internal spirit, revealing a city's culture,” the statement said.
It continued to hope for a ‘new era’ of architecture to sweep across the nation to “strengthen cultural confidence, show the city's features, exhibit the contemporary spirit, and display the Chinese characteristics.”
These guidelines against foreign architecture were a mostly welcomed one on Chinese social media.