40 The Arup Journal 2/2008

CCTV Headquarters,
Beijing, China:
Building the structure
Erecting two massive leaning Towers, and connecting
them with a 9-13 storey Overhang suspended
36 storeys in the air, presented the structural engineers
and contractors with unprecedented design and
construction challenges.
This is the third Arup Journal article about the CCTV
(China Central Television) building in Beijing; it covers
the construction of this unique project. The previous
two articles dealt with the structural
1
and services
engineering
2
design.
Introduction
China Central Television (CCTV) had been expanding
greatly, in competition with major international
television and news service providers, and early in
2002 it organised an international design competition
for a new headquarters. This was won by the team of
OMA (Ofce for Metropolitan Architecture) and Arup.
The team subsequently allied with the East China
Design Institute (ECADI) to act as the essential local
design institute for both architecture and engineering.
The rst Arup Journal article
1
outlined the design
collaboration process.
The unusual brief, in television terms, was for
all the functions of production, management, and
administration to be contained on the chosen site in
the new Beijing Central Business District, but not
necessarily in one building.
In its architectural response, however, OMA
decided that by doing just this, it should be possible
to break down the ghettoes that tend to form in a
complex and compartmentalised process like making
television programmes, and create a building whose
layout in three dimensions would force all those
involved to mix and produce a better end-product
more economically and efciently (Fig 1).
The winning design for the 473 000m
2
, 234m
tall CCTV building thus combines administration
and ofces, news and broadcasting, programme
production, and services the entire process of
Chinese television in a single loop of interconnected
activities (Fig 2) around the four elements of the
building: the nine-storey Base, the two leaning
Towers that slope at 6 in two directions, and the
9-13 storey Overhang, suspended 36 storeys in
the air. The public facilities are in a second building,
the Television Cultural Centre (TVCC), and both are
linked to a third service building that houses major
plant as well as security.
The whole development will provide 599 000m
gross oor area and covers 187 000m, including a
landscaped media park with external features.
Construction Documents phase
In August 2004, after receiving approval for the
structural design from the Chinese Ministry of
Construction, Arup handed over the extended
preliminary design (EPD) documents to ECADI, which
then began to produce the Construction Documents
(CDs). Arup, however, maintained an extensive
involvement on completion of the EPD design phase,
including production of tender documentation for the
main structure and interaction with the tenderers for
the works, as well as being part of the tender review
process. Together with the architects OMA, Arup
also had a continuous site presence during
construction, working with the contractor in
implementing the design (Fig 3).
Chris Carroll Craig Gibbons Goman Ho Michael Kwok
Richard Lawson Alexis Lee Ronald Li Andrew Luong
Rory McGowan Chas Pope
1. Architects illustration of the completed building.
41 The Arup Journal 2/2008
As previously described
1
, the buildings shape and form meant that it fell outside
the prescriptive codes for buildings in China. In consequence, a rigorous series of
meetings was required with an assembled expert panel comprising 12 professors
from around China, appointed by the Ministry of Construction. Dialogue with these
experts inuenced the approach to the design and determined the extent of analysis
required to justify the seismic performance of the building.
As part of the expert panel approval process
1
, several suggestions were made
that Arup and ECADI subsequently addressed during the CD phase. These included
a requirement for three physical tests to be carried out, in order to verify the
analytical calculations:
Jo|nt test 'butterfy p|ate"}: Be|j|ng's Ts|nghua n|vers|ty tested a 1:5 soa|e mode|
of the column-brace joint to conrm its performance under cyclical loading, in
particular the requirement that failure takes place by yielding of the element rather
than at the connection.
Oompos|te oo|umn: Tongj| n|vers|ty |n Shangha| oarr|ed out destruot|ve tests on
1:5 scale models of the projects non-standard steel reinforced columns. These
tests resulted from concerns that the high structural steel ratio might lead to
reduced ductility.
Shak|ng tab|e test mode|: A 7m ta|| 1:35 soa|e mode| of the ent|re bu||d|ng was
constructed to test the structural performance under several seismic events
including a severe design earthquake (known as Level 3 - average return period of
1 in 2475 years). The tests were undertaken by the China Academy of Building
Research (CABR) in Beijing, using the largest shaking table outside America or
Japan (Fig 4 overleaf).
This large-scale shaking table test was of particular interest. In China it is the norm
for buildings that fall outside the code to be thus studied, and the CCTV model was
the largest and most complex tested to date. The nature of the testing required the
primary structural elements to be made from copper (to replicate as much as possible
in a scale sense the ductility of steel). The model also included concrete oors
(approximately 8mm thick) to represent the 150mm thick composite oor slabs.
Interestingly, in a scaled model test the duration of the earthquake is also scaled,
so that the severe design earthquake event lasted less than four seconds when
applied to the model.
2004
Competition
2002 2003 2005 2006 2007 2008
Jury decision
Contract negotiation
Scheme design stage
22 December 2002:
signing of design contract
Extended preliminary
design stage
Structural expert panel
review approval
Extended preliminary
design revisions
Construction
documents stage
C
o
n
s
t
r
u
c
t
i
o
n

p
h
a
s
e
Excavation
Piling and raft
foundations
Basement
Superstructure
steelwork
Cladding
installation
Fit-out
8 January 2004
22 September 2004:
groundbreaking ceremony
28 April 2006: construction
documents approval
28 April 2005: main
contractor enters site
13 February 2006:
steel installation started
1 August 2007: construction of Overhang starts 8 December 2007: connection of Overhang
26 December 2007: Overhang connection ceremony 27 March 2008: topping-out ceremony
2. Functions and layout within the CCTV building.
3. CCTV timeline.
VIP elevators
Studios
Studios
President
suite
Executive
oor
Cafe and
meeting
VIP
lobby
Health
centre
Broadcasting
Public space and circulation
Studio and broadcast
Staff and VIP facilities
Executive
elevators
Express
elevators
VIP
lounge
VIP
lounge
Canteen
Tower
lobby
VIP
lobby
Marketing
department
Sports hall
VIP lounge
Central kitchen
Staff canteen
Gym
Tower
lobby
Sky studio
Studios
Open
studios
Public
lobby
42 The Arup Journal 2/2008
After the connection was made, any added weight would result in a thrust between
the two Towers via the Overhang. The nal stresses in the building were therefore very
much linked to the construction sequence. The Particular Specication dened an
upper and lower bound range of permissible locked-in stress, allowing the contractor
some exibility in choosing his nal construction sequence.
Another interesting feature of the process was the proposals put forward by
different tenderers to meet the Particular Specication requirements and the
particularly challenging aspects of the Overhang construction. One of the three
shortlisted tenderers proposed a temporary tower the full 162m height to the
underside of the Overhang, providing a working platform to build the Overhang
connection in situ. The second tenderer opted to build a partial cantilever from the
Towers and then construct the lower part of the Overhang at ground level and strand
jack the assembly into position. The third tenderer proposed to construct incremental
cantilevers from each Tower until the two met and connected at the centre of the
Overhang (Fig 5). This latter approach was as described in Arups documentation,
though any construction approach was deemed acceptable provided it could satisfy
the locked-in stress limits dened in the Particular Specication.
The Particular Technical Specication approach has become a leading example of
best practice for high-rise construction within Arup.
China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC) was awarded the main
contract in April 2005. CSCEC tendered on this third approach.
In all cases, the physical tests correlated closely with
the analysis. It is arguable that computer analysis is
now more accurate than a physical shaking table
test, which is still the standard practice in China.
Due to the amount of scaling required, the accuracy
of such models and tests may be signicantly less
than the proven accuracy of the analytical software
used to design the building. Nonetheless, a shaking
table test helps to corroborate the computer model
and provides a demonstration that the design has
safely accounted for seismic issues.
Tender, excavation, and foundations
As noted already, Arup had a major role in the tender
process for appointing the main contractor, including
the production of the steelwork drawings and
specications. One key document was the Particular
Technical Specication, which placed several
requirements on the contractor that were specic to
the design of CCTV.
Some of the specic issues identied in the
Particular Specication included:
we|ght aud|ts - |e onus on the oontraotor to
convey the weight added to the building at
stages during the construction
speo|fo mon|tor|ng of the Tower deformat|on
(married to the construction weight assessment)
speo|fo mon|tor|ng of deformat|ons |no|ud|ng
dishing) of the foundations
presett|ng of the struoture
mon|tor|ng of da||y var|at|on |n the d|fferenoe
between the position of connection points as the
Overhang construction advanced prior to linking
the requ|rement to oonneot when the re|at|ve
movement between the connection points of the
Overhang were manageable (suggesting
connection when the two Towers were at an even
temperature, ie at dawn)
a means of show|ng that the extent of oonneot|on
was commensurate with the daily movement
measurement, so as to prevent the connection
ripping apart once it had been rmly made
a requ|rement for post-|nsta|||ng oerta|n key
structural elements.
In addition to regular gravity and lateral forces acting
on the structure, there are signicant additional
construction stage forces due to the fact that the
building comprises two separate leaning Towers with
cantilevers up until the point at which they are joined
to become one structure. The additional bending
and overturning stresses that get locked into the
Towers and foundations prior to joining depend on
the amount of structure and faade completed at the
time of connection.
In essence, the greater the construction load
applied to the building prior to connecting the two
Towers, the more this would manifest itself as
increased locked-in base moments in the Towers.
4. Shaking table model.
5. Three alternative methods of constructing the Overhang.
43 The Arup Journal 2/2008
The two Towers are supported on separate piled raft
foundations with up to 370 reinforced concrete bored
piles beneath each, typically 33m long and up to
1.2m in diameter. In total, 1242 piles were installed
during the spring and summer of 2005. In common
with many other Beijing projects, the piles were
shaft- and toe-grouted (in accordance with an
alternative design by CABR). The top 2m of the piles
were then topped off by hand rather than with
machinery (Fig 7) - one of the few occasions when
sheer numbers of workers had to be mobilised to
carry out the work: such unskilled, labour-intensive
tasks were few on this project.
The Tower rafts were constructed over Christmas
2005 (Fig 8). The 7m thick reinforced concrete slabs
each contain up to 39 000m
3
of concrete and 5000
tonnes of reinforcement. Each raft was constructed
in a single continuous pour lasting up to 54 hours.
At one stage, 720m
3
of concrete was being delivered
every hour, using a relay of 160 concrete trucks from
three suppliers. Chilled water pipes were embedded
inside the pour and temperatures were monitored for
more than two weeks to ensure that the concrete did
not experience too high a temperature gradient
during curing. The two rafts, poured within days of
each other, were the largest single continuous
concrete pours ever undertaken by Chinas building
industry. In total, 133 343m
3
of concrete went into
the foundations of the Towers and podium.
Construction team
CSCEC, a state-owned enterprise under the administration of the central government,
was established in 1982 and is Chinas largest construction and engineering group.
CSCEC now enjoys an international reputation, having completed an increasing
number of projects abroad including the Middle East, South America and Africa.
The steelwork fabricators were Grand Tower, part of the Bao Steel group based in
Shanghai (Chinas largest steel manufacturer), and Jiangsu Huning Steel, based in
Jixing, Jiangsu Province.
Other members of the team were Turner Construction (USA), providing support to
CSCEC on construction logistics, China Academy of Building Research (CABR), one
of the major design institutes in Beijing, and Tsinghua University, which carried out the
presetting analysis and is one of Chinas foremost universities. The independent site
supervisor was Yuanda International, established in 1995 (Fig 6).
Excavation and foundations
The ground-breaking ceremony took place on 22 September 2004, and the
excavation of 870 000m
3
of earth began the following month under an advance
contract. Strict construction regulations in Beijing meant that spoil could only be
removed at night: nonetheless, up to 12 000m
3
of soil was removed each day,
the entire excavation taking 190 days. Dewatering wells were also installed, since
the groundwater level was above the maximum excavation depth of 27.4m below
existing ground level.
Client
Clients project manager
China Central Television
New Site Construction Ltd
China Central Television (CCTV)
Yuanda International
Site supervisor ("Jian Li") Main contractor
CSCEC
Logistics advice
Turner Construction
(USA)
Steel fabricators
Tsinghua University
(Presetting analysis)
Design and analysis
China Academy of
Building Research
(Movement monitoring)
Grand Tower
Other subcontractors
Jiangsu Huning Steel
Design team
OMA Arup ECADI
8. Preparation of foundation raft.
9. Delivery of column baseplate, April 2006.
7. Cutting down piles by hand.
6. Site set-up and roles.
44 The Arup Journal 2/2008
The seismic analysis indicated that some columns and their foundation piles could
experience tension during a severe design earthquake. Some of the perimeter
columns and their baseplates were therefore embedded 6m into the rafts to enhance
their anchorage (Fig 11). Certain piles were also designed for tension.
Steelwork construction
The rst column element was placed on 13 February 2006 (Fig 12). In total, 41 882
steel elements with a combined weight of 125 000 tonnes, including connections,
were erected over the next 26 months, at a peak rate of 8000 tonnes per month.
During the design it was thought that some high-grade steel elements would need
to be imported, but in the end all the steel came from China, reecting the rapid
advances of the countrys steelwork industry. Steel sections were fabricated at the
yards of Grand Tower in Shanghai and Huning in Jiangsu, and then delivered to site
by road (Fig 9), with a size limit of either the tower crane capacity (80 tonnes at a
distance of 12m) or the maximum physical dimensions that could be transported
(18m length). Inspections generally took place prior to shipping, with further checks
prior to installation. Only minor fabrication work was carried out on site.
The size of the site enabled many elements to be stored after delivery (Fig 13),
although heavier ones were kept on the backs of trailers until they could be craned
directly into position. Due to the many different elements, each was individually coded
to identify its location and orientation.
The elements were lifted into place by two tower cranes working inside each
Tower. These were Favco M1280D cranes imported from Australia the largest ever
used in Chinas building industry - plus a smaller M600D crane. Even so, care was
needed when locating the temporary ground-level working platforms to which the
elements were delivered for craning, to ensure that all parts of the sloping Towers
stayed within the cranes operating radius as their height progressively increased.
Each crane not only had to be raised up to 14 times during construction, but also
slewed sideways up to four times when it reached the upper levels, to maintain
position relative to the edges of the progressively shifting oorplate (Fig 10).
(f) Both cranes resume work. (e) First crane used to reassemble
second crane in new position.
(d) First crane used to dismantle
second crane.
(c) Due to shifting floorplate, crane
must be relocated horizontally so
as to reach extremity of building.
(b) As building height increases,
cranes progressively lifted by
jacks.
(a) Cranes erected (in lift shafts) at
ground level.
10. Crane slewing process.
12. Installation of rst column.
13. Prefabricated elements stored on site.
14. Craning in action.
Top of raft
7m
Bottom of raft
11. Column embedded in raft.
45 The Arup Journal 2/2008
Due to the 6 slope of the Towers, the perimeter elements needed to be adjusted to
approximately the correct installation angle after being lifted a short distance off the
ground, using a chain block. This simplied the erection process at height.
The vertical core structure was generally erected three storeys ahead of the
perimeter frame. This meant that the perimeter columns could be initially bolted in
place and braced to the core columns with temporary stays, then released from
the tower crane before nal surveying and positioning. The welders could then start
the full-penetration butt welds required at every connection: a time-consuming task
requiring shift work to achieve a continuous 24-hour process.
The maximum plate thickness of the columns is 110mm and the volume of weld
sometimes reaches as much as 15% of the total connection weight. At the extreme
case, a few connection plates near the base of the Tower required a 15m long site
splice of 100mm thick plate, each taking a week to complete. The plate thickness of
some elements exceeded the maximum assumed in design, which had been
determined by likely steel availability. Onerous material specications were laid out
for thick sections to ensure satisfactory performance.
The welders had to be specially qualied for each particular welding process.
Before the start of a given weld, the welders qualication, the electrodes, scaffolding
safety, the preheating temperature, and the method would all be checked. Procedures
were laid down for monitoring preheating temperatures, the interpass temperature,
and any post-heating treatment. Non-destructive
testing 24 hours after completion was carried out by
the contractor, site supervision company, and third
parties employed by the client.
Though, following standard Chinese practice,
all quality control was carried out by the independent
site supervisor, Arup maintained a site presence to
observe progress and provide a liaison with the
architect and client, due to the projects complexity.
Some of the most complex sections required
careful thought to achieve a full weld, with staggered
splices used in some cases to reduce concentrations
of weld stresses where possible (Fig 17).
The geometrical complexity made construction
slower than for other steel-framed buildings.
Although the rate of erection increased as the
contractor became more familiar with the process,
CCTV has no typical oors. Nevertheless, up to six
storeys per month was achieved for the relatively
uniform levels at Tower mid-height.
Concreting the composite columns and oor slabs
took place several storeys behind steel erection,
off the critical path.
(a) Lower box section
fabricated on site.
(b) Staggered splices allow
access for welding second
box section.
(c) Filler section installed and
welded in place.
(d) Box sections encased in
reinforced concrete.
An average of 1200 workers were on site at any
one time, rising to 3500 at peak of construction.
They ranged from unskilled migrant labourers to
experienced welders and top-level management.
CCTV actually employed far fewer labourers than
other large projects in the city, since the building
contains a limited amount of conventional
reinforced concrete construction (by contrast
almost 50 000 were employed on Beijing Airports
new terminal). The men, and a few women,
usually worked 8-10 hour days. In 2007,
construction workers in Beijing could typically
earn up to 120 per month - a considerable sum
by rural income standards - with workers sending
much of this home to support their families.
Accommodation and food were usually provided
by the contractor. Most lived in dormitories on the
outskirts of Beijing, provided by the contractor,
although some actually lived on the site.
The workers hail from all parts of China, and
generally return home for two weeks once a year
during the Spring Festival (Chinese New Year).
The site meeting minutes recorded some unusual
working concerns: for example, productivity being
affected by homesickness in the lead-up to the
Spring Festival, or by workers suddenly returning
to farms in the surrounding provinces during the
wheat harvest season between May and June.
Mealtimes are possibly the most important part of
the day, with the site almost coming to a standstill
at lunchtime, except for the non-stop sparks from
welders. During summer evenings, outdoor lm
screenings were arranged for workers in public
squares near the site.
Life on site
17. Weld process for complex section.
16. Welding in process.
15.
46 The Arup Journal 2/2008
Movements and presets
Arups calculations included a construction time
history analysis to take account of the effects of the
predicted construction method and sequence on the
completed buildings deections and built-in forces.
This indicated that the corner of the Overhang would
move downwards by approximately 300mm under
the buildings dead weight. For there to be no overall
downward deection under this load case, the whole
structure needed to be preset upwards and
backwards to compensate (Fig 18), and the
contractor continuously monitored construction to
ensure that the actual movements corresponded to
analysis assumptions and predictions.
The presetting process was further complicated
by the fact that when completed, almost all the
columns have different stresses, depending on
the ratio of gravity to seismic loads, unlike in a
conventional building where all perimeter elements
will be similarly stressed. As a result, different presets
were required on different sides of the Towers, the
exact values also depending on the nal construction
sequence. In practical terms, this meant fabricating
the columns longer on one side of each Tower, so
that they would eventually shorten to the correct
geometry under load.
Presetting was in two stages: at the fabrication
yard, based on the results of the analytical modelling,
and then at installation, if required, to suit the actual
building deformation as monitored during the course
of construction. Progress of oor plate concreting
was also controlled to suit the assumptions made in
the presetting estimation.
The contractor commissioned CABR to carry out
the movement monitoring, while Tsinghua University
performed the building movement prediction and
presetting analysis as required by the Arup
specication. This required a more detailed time
history analysis of the nal construction sequence,
dividing the process into 53 assumed stages based
on estimated progress for the perimeter tube, core,
slab concreting, faade, services, and interior t-out.
This was compared with the results of the movement
monitoring, and checks and adjustments were made
as necessary.
The studies found that the movements during
Overhang construction would be far more signicant
than those at the earlier stages caused by the
Towers lean only. Due to the large number of
variables needed for the presetting calculation
(variable axial stiffness, nal construction sequence,
foundation settlement, thermal movements, etc),
the main focus of the analysis was on the critical
Overhang construction stage. By the time Overhang
erection commenced, there was already much
movement data from the Tower construction that
could be used to calibrate the analysis.
Overhang construction
Construction of the Overhang began after the
steelwork for the two Towers was completed to roof
level. Tower 2 Overhang began rst, in August 2007,
and the structure was cantilevered out piece-by-
piece from each Tower over the course of the next
ve months (Fig 22). This was the most critical
construction stage, not only in terms of temporary
stability but also because its presence and the way it
was built would change the behaviour of those parts
of the Tower already constructed. The forces from the
two halves of the partly constructed Overhang would
be concentrated in the Towers until such time as the
two halves were linked and the building became a
single continuous form, when the loads would start
being shared between all of the permanent structure.
The bottom two levels of the Overhang contain
15 transfer trusses that support the internal columns
and transfer their loads into the external tube. In the
corner of the Overhang, these trusses are two-way,
resulting in some complex 3-D nodes with up to
13 connecting elements, weighing approximately
33 tonnes each.
Fabrication accuracy was therefore crucial for
this part of the structure, with erection being carried
out piece-by-piece 160m above ground level.
Trial assembly of these trusses at the fabrication yard
prior to delivery was essential to ensure that minimal
adjustment would be needed at height.
18. Basic concept of
presetting for a
sloping Tower.
(a) Tower deects under its
own weight.
(c) Resultant: no deection
under self-weight.
(b) Preset upwards and
backwards.
19. CCTV under
construction at
times presented
almost surreal vistas
from surrounding
streets.
20. Large buttery plate.
47 The Arup Journal 2/2008
Prior to connection, the two Towers would move independently of each other due to
environmental conditions, in particular wind and thermal expansion and contraction.
As soon as they were joined, therefore, the elements at the link would have to be able
to resist the stresses caused by these movements. As a result, the connection
strategy required a delay joint that could allow a sufcient number of elements to be
loosely connected between the Towers, then locked off quickly to allow them all to
carry these forces safely before any relative movement took place. Arup specied that
this should take place early in the morning on a windless day, when the two Towers
would be at a uniform temperature and the movements at a minimum.
In the lead-up to connection, Arups specication required one week of monitoring
of global and relative movements so that the correct dimensions of the linking
elements could be predicted. The relative movements of the Towers during the day
were found to be around 10mm. The contractor made the nal measurements of the
gap exactly 24 hours beforehand (ie at identical ambient conditions) so that nal
adjustments could be made to the length of the linking elements while they were still
on the ground prior to installation.
The contractor chose to connect seven link elements at the inside corner of the
Overhang during this initial connection phase (Fig 21). These were lifted into place
to less than 10mm tolerance and temporarily xed with pins in the space of a few
minutes at 9.00am on 8 December 2007, before the Towers started to move relative
to each other (Fig 23). The pins allowed them to carry the thermal loads while the
joints were fully welded over the following 48 hours.
The specication originally called for the connection to take place while ambient
temperatures were between 12-28C (ie close to the standard room temperature
assumed in analysis). Since the connection took place during winter, the temperature
at the time was around 0C, so further analysis of the structure was carried out by
the design team to check the impact of the increased design thermal range.
21. The seven initial connection elements.
22. The Overhang before connection.
23. Installation of rst connection element.
24. The completed Overhang structure, showing the three 3m diameter circles punched in the deck
to create glazed viewing platforms for the public viewing gallery.
48 The Arup Journal 2/2008
Once the initial connection was made, the remainder of the Overhang steelwork was
progressively installed. With the building now acting as one entity, the Overhang was
propping and stabilising the two Towers, and continued to attract locked-in stresses
as further weight was applied. In addition to the primary steelwork elements,
a continuous steel plate deck up to 20mm thick was laid down on the lowest oors of
the Overhang to resist the high in-plane forces that were part of this propping action.
The steel plate is not, in fact, fully continuous three 3m diameter circles were
punched into the deck to provide glass viewing platforms for the public gallery at the
Overhangs bottom level (Fig 24).
The concrete oor slabs were only added once the entire primary structure had
been completed, so as to reduce the loads during the partially-constructed stage.
Again, the construction stage analysis needed to take account of this sequencing.
A topping-out ceremony on 27 March 2008, on a specially-constructed platform
at the corner of the Overhang, marked the completion of the steelwork installation.
Post-installation of key elements
Arups early analysis showed that the corner columns on the inside faces of the
Towers would attract a huge amount of dead load from the Overhang, and thus
have little spare capacity for resisting seismic loads. Increasing the column sizes
was rejected since they would become stiffer and hence attract even higher loads.
Instead, the corner column and brace elements directly below the Overhang were left
out until the end of construction, forcing the dead loads to travel via the diagonals
down adjacent columns and enabling the full capacity of the corner elements to be
available for wind and seismic loads in the as-built condition.
Key elements at the intersection of the Towers and podium were also post-xed
for similar reasons. In addition, this process enabled the architectural size of the
elements to be controlled, while giving the contractor additional exibility to deal with
construction movements.
Delay joints were introduced between the Towers and the Base to allow for
differential settlement between the two structures foundations. It should be noted
that over half the predicted settlements were expected to take place after the Towers
were constructed to their full height, due to the disproportionate effect of the
Overhang on the forces in certain columns. These were fully closed after completion
of the main structure. Further late-cast strips were also provided at several locations
around the basement to control shrinkage.
Follow-on trades
Installing the faade began once the structure had
reached mid-height, so the faade design needed to
take account of signicant movements subsequent
to installation. This sequencing also created tricky
interfacing problems due to the need to share tower
crane use with the steel erection, and cope with
protecting workers and completed cladding
from work taking place above.
The lean of the Towers meant that workers on the
re-entrant sides of the Tower would be protected
from falling objects above (albeit with additional
installation hurdles to overcome), while extra care
would be needed to protect those on the other faces
which were subject to higher risk.
Services installation also began while the structure
was in progress. This fast-track process was in
marked contrast to many other projects in the city, in
which faade and MEP installation would sometimes
only start once the structure had been completed.
25. Faade build-up.
26. Construction progress at March 2008.
49 The Arup Journal 2/2008
Cutting down piles
The wide availability of unskilled labour in
China means that many operations are
carried out in a very different manner from
the West. On CCTV, for example, piles were
cut down by hand, with hammer and chisel,
to expose the reinforcement (Fig 7).
While this avoided workers suffering from
Vibration White Finger, a condition that
often affects those working with vibrating
machinery like drills, this was still a very
time-consuming process, and other
methods were developed to speed things
up. Once the outer part of the pile had been
broken back, a notch was cut into the
central part, and cables were tightened
around the remainder of the section.
Then, with the help of a Tirfor winch,
the mass-concrete pile top could simply
be snapped off.
Faade installation
The faade design includes large diagonal
diagrid elements that span between each
primary oor, mirroring the structural braces
(Fig 27). These heavy pieces had to be lifted
with the tower cranes, but on the re-entrant
faces, the slope of the Towers meant that it
was impossible to get them close enough to
the edge of the oor to x them in position.
The contractor came up with an ingenious
system of supporting the element off a
counterbalanced mini-crane, hanging
on the end of the main crane cable.
This allowed a team inside the Tower to
manoeuvre the piece laterally into position.
The other faces also involved challenges.
The glazing panels were lifted up individually
by rope, but on the outer faces of the
Towers, men were needed on the ground to
pull the rope sideways to keep the panels
away from the Tower as they were lifted, to
prevent damage to glazing already installed.
Surveying
Not one of the 121 columns in either Towers
perimeter frame is vertical, and many of the
pieces in the Base and Overhang are aligned
in completely different directions. To ensure
every element was positioned correctly,
the contractor continuously monitored the
control points throughout the building,
reaching 670 in number at the most critical
stage around January 2008 after the linking
of the two Towers. Monitoring included
vertical movements of Tower circumference
at particular oors, corner column
movements at the Overhang soft,
internal levelling, stress, raft settlement,
and Overhang movement.
Reinforcement bars
Spare reinforcement is used for almost
everything on a Chinese construction site -
handrails for temporary staircases (and
sometimes the staircases themselves);
impromptu hammers and other tools; drain
covers. Very few offcuts go to waste.
Meanwhile, almost all reinforcement used in
the permanent works is coupled rather than
lapped material costs are still the main
driver in China.
Recycling
As is standard in China, virtually nothing
from the site demolition or new building went
to waste. Every brick, nail, pipe, and piece of
timber and reinforcement was meticulously
extracted and collected by a team of
workers, before being used again on site or
sent away for reuse or recycling.
Novel construction solutions for a novel building
The challenge of constructing a vast, cranked, leaning building made
the contractor devise some other intriguing solutions.
27. The faade design includes large diagonal diagrid elements that span between each primary oor, mirroring the structural braces.
50 The Arup Journal 2/2008
TVCC and the Service Building
The other buildings on site, TVCC (Fig 28) and the Service Building, were built
simultaneously. Construction of the Service Building began in April 2006, and it was
handed over in June 2008.
The Service Building was actually the critical path item, as it had to be complete
and fully commissioned in advance of CCTV and TVCC. Service tunnels running
between the three buildings introduced a signicant element of civil engineering works
to the site.
The contract for TVCC was given to a separate contractor, Beijing Urban
Construction Group. Work began in March 2005, and the structure was complete by
September 2007. TVCC and the Service Building will be described in detail in a future
issue of The Arup Journal.
Conclusion
The structure of the CCTV building was completed in May 2008, with the faade due
to be nished by the start of the Beijing Olympic Games. Within weeks of structural
completion, China was struck by its most violent earthquake of recent years.
Although the epicentre was nearly 1000 miles from Beijing, the tremor was felt on site.
Like other structures in seismic regions, CCTV is designed to resist a certain level of
earthquake during construction, and no damage was reported. However, this served
as a timely reminder of the importance of the buildings rigorous seismic design and
approvals process.
That the contractor could construct such a vast and complex building with few
delays was a credit to the design team and to CSCEC, in particular the attention paid
to devising a feasible construction sequence from an early stage, and the careful
thought about the buildability of the primary structural elements and connections.
Chris Carroll is a Director of Arup in the Buildings
London 7 group. He led the structural design of the
CCTV headquarters.
Dr Craig Gibbons is a Director of Arup in the Gulf group,
and is Country Leader for the United Arab Emirates.
He was the Project Manager for the CCTV headquarters.
Dr Goman Ho is a Director of Arup in the Beijing ofce.
He led the structural team in the Beijing ofce for the
CCTV headquarters.
Michael Kwok is a Director of Arup and leads the
Shanghai ofce. He was the Project Director for the
CCTV headquarters.
Richard Lawson is an Associate of Arup in the Buildings
London 7 group. He was a structural engineer for the
CCTV headquarters.
Alexis Lee is a Director of Arup in the Hong Kong B
group. He was the acting project manager for the
CCTV headquarters.
Ronald Li is a senior engineer in Arups Vietnam
group. He was the Resident Engineer for the CCTV
headquarters.
Andrew Luong is an Associate of Arup in the Hong
Kong B group. He was a structural engineer for the
CCTV headquarters.
Rory McGowan is a Director of Arup China, Beijing
ofce. He was leader of the competition and design team
for the CCTV headquarters.
Chas Pope is an Associate of Arup in the Beijing ofce.
He was a structural engineer for the CCTV headquarters.
Credits
Client: China Central Television Architect: OMA
Stedebouw BV, Ole Scheeren and Rem Koolhaas
Structural, MEP, geotechnical, re, and security
consultant: Arup - Abdel Ahmed, Cecil Balmond,
Carolina Bartram, Chris Carroll, Wayne Chan, Mark Choi,
Dean Clabrough, Paul Cross, Roy Denoon, Omar Diallo,
Mimmy Dino, Xiaonian Duan, Gary Ge, Craig Gibbons,
Sam Hatch, Colin Ho, Goman Ho, Jonathan Kerry,
Michael Kwok, Richard Lawson, Alexis Lee, Jing-Yu Li,
Ronald Li, Zhao-Fan Li, Peng Liu, Man-Kit Luk, Andrew
Luong, John McArthur, Rory McGowan, Hamish Nevile,
Jack Pappin, Steve Peet, Dan Pook, Chas Pope, Andrew
Smith, Stuart Smith, Alex To, Felix Tong, Paul Tonkin,
Ben Urick, Bai-Qian Wan, Yang Wang, Yi-Hua Wang,
Will Whitby, Robin Wilkinson, Michelle Wong, Stella
Wong, Eric Wu, Lucy Xu, Angela Yeung, Terence Yip,
George Zhao (geotechnical, structural) Main contractor:
China State Construction Engineering Corporation
Steelwork contractors: Grand Tower; Jiangsu Huning
Steel Construction logistics: Turner Construction
Building movement monitor: China Academy of Building
Research Presetting analyst: Tsinghua University
Independent site supervisor: Yuanda International
Illustrations: 1, 2, 25 OMA; 3, 6, 10, 17 Nigel Whale;
4, 12, 14, 16, 19, 23, 27, 29 Chas Pope; 5, 8, 18 Arup;
7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 20 Rory McGowan; 21 CSCEC; 22, 24,
26, 28 Arup/Frank P Palmer.
References
(1) CARROLL, C, et al. CCTV Headquarters, Beijing, China:
Structural engineering design and approvals. The Arup Journal,
40(2), pp3-9, 2/2005.
(2) GREEN, G, et al. CCTV Headquarters, Beijing, China:
Services engineering design. The Arup Journal, 40(3), pp22-29,
3/2005.
28. The TVCC building, to the left of the CCTV headquarters, April 2008.
51 The Arup Journal 2/2008
29. The scale of the completed
structure is emphasised by the
quantity of site works that were
still in progress around its base
in August 2008.