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Architecture

World's largest building opens for business in China

By Adam Williams
July 17, 2013
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The world's largest building has opened for business in China (Image: ETG)
The world's largest building has opened for business in China (Image: GoChengdoo)
Visitors to the oceanic-themed west wing of the building are greeted with the smell of the sea (Image: GoChengdoo)
The building contains water slides, surfing facilities, plus what's said to be the world's largest LED screen (Image: GoChengdoo)
The building contains water slides, surfing facilities, and a huge wave machine (Image: GoChengdoo)
An entire fake "Mediterranean village" shopping area is installed somewhere under Chengdu New Century Global Center's sizable roof, too (Image: GoChengdoo)
The building took three years to construct (Image: GoChengdoo)
The New Century Global Center is the largest building in the world (Image: GoChengdoo)
It's linked to nearby Sichuan capital Chengdu by 20 bus lines and its own metro station (Image: GoChengdoo)
A total of 1,000 deluxe suites, and an art gallery measuring some 30,00 sq m (322,000 sq ft) are granted a corner somewhere (Image: GoChengdoo)
The New Century Global Center also contains a theater and concert hall which each have a capacity of 1,000 (Image: GoChengdoo)
There's a 14-screen IMAX Cineplex and an ice-skating rink inside (Image: GoChengdoo)
The building is located in Chengdu, China (Image: GoChengdoo)
The building took three years to construct (Image: GoChengdoo)
The building is located in Chengdu, China (Image: GoChengdoo)
There's also a 14-screen IMAX Cineplex and an ice-skating rink inside (Image: GoChengdoo)
The building took three years to construct (Image: GoChengdoo)
The building contains water slides, surfing facilities, plus what's said to be the world's largest LED screen (Image: GoChengdoo)
It's linked to nearby Sichuan capital Chengdu by 20 bus lines and its own metro station (Image: GoChengdoo)
The building has exterior dimensions of 500 x 400 x 100 m (1,600 x 1,300 x 100 ft) (Image: GoChengdoo)
It's linked to nearby Sichuan capital Chengdu by 20 bus lines and its own metro station (Image: GoChengdoo)
The building has exterior dimensions of 500 x 400 x 100 m (1,600 x 1,300 x 100 ft) (Image: GoChengdoo)
An entire fake "Mediterranean village" shopping area is installed somewhere under Chengdu New Century Global Center's sizable roof, too (Image: GoChengdoo)
The building took three years to construct (Image: ETG)
The world's largest building has opened for business in China (Image: ETG)
The New Century Global Center boasts a mammoth 1.7 million sq m (almost 19 million sq ft) of indoor space, which is four fifths the size of Monaco (Image: ETG)
The New Century Global Center also contains a theater and concert hall which each have a capacity of 1,000 (Image: ETG)
The building took three years to construct (Image: ETG)
The New Century Global Center boasts a mammoth 1.7 million sq m (almost 19 million sq ft) of indoor space, which is four fifths the size of Monaco (Image: ETG)
View gallery - 28 images

The world's largest building has opened for business in Chengdu, the capital city of Sichuan province, China. The New Century Global Center boasts a mammoth 1.7 million sq m (almost 19 million sq ft) of indoor space, which is four fifths the size of Monaco.

Owned by the Exhibition and Travel Group (ETG), the New Century Global Center has exterior dimensions of 500 x 400 x 100 m (1,600 x 1,300 x 300 ft), and took three years to build. The building is linked to nearby Chengdu by 20 bus lines and an on-site metro station.

The New Century Global Center contains a theater and concert hall, each of which has a capacity of 1,000 people. The building features a total of 1,000 deluxe suites, an art gallery measuring some 30,00 sq m (322,000 sq ft), a conference hall, shopping centers, multiple hotels and offices, and a 14-screen IMAX Cineplex. Parts of the exterior facade are styled to resemble a seagull's wings, and there's a strong oceanic theme throughout.

The New Century Global Center boasts a mammoth 1.7 million sq m (almost 19 million sq ft) of indoor space, which is four fifths the size of Monaco (Image: ETG)

Though located far from the coast, visitors to the building's Paradise Isle Oceanic Park wing of are greeted with the smell of the sea, a fake coastline complete with sand, the largest wave-pool in the world, and a river-rapids ride. There are also water slides, surfing facilities, and what may be the world's largest LED screen, at 150 x 40 m (490 x 130 ft).

As if further illustration of the grandness of this structure was needed, there's an entire fake "Mediterranean village" shopping area installed somewhere under the Center's sizable roof.

The scale of the project is mind-boggling, and if you can stick around past the superlatives in the opening minutes of the video below, there's some additional detail inside.

Sources: ETG, GoChengdoo [1], [2], [3]

View gallery - 28 images

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ArchitectureChinaStructure
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Adam Williams
Adam scours the globe from his home in Spain in order to bring the best of innovative architecture and sustainable design to the pages of New Atlas. Most of his spare time is spent dabbling in music, tinkering with old Macintosh computers and trying to keep his even older VW bus on the road.
14 comments
BigGoofyGuy
This will definitely be on my 'bucket list' of places to see. It is way cool, IMO. It is another reason to see China.
Pin
Is this just another mammoth Chinese development built for the sake of GDP that will stay empty?
Gordon McShean
This looks like (and sounds like) a glorious realization of a sentiment promoted by corporate interests in America and China (and perhaps Europe). If this has actually been made to work, I hope its momentary success can be enjoyed by folks whose experience of exploitation makes them deserving of an earthly heaven (and who can blind themselves to the punitive environment which is inevitably developing outside). I cannot deny the sense of horror which grew in me as I watched its promotion. Have its corporate developers no sense of guilt?
Buzzclick
Maybe but not likely pin. It's a classic "if you build it, they will come". It has so many reasons for people to want to be there, for both the local population as well as international visitors. Its MASSIVE scale is mind-boggling, and i would like to see it covered live instead of this animated video promo. Every little detail seems to have been thought of. It illustrates the epic capabilities of today's Chinese culture. Truly remarkable stuff, but for its success, the jury is still out.
One has to admire this (and other) expressions of modern China, especially if you consider the population density compared to the west. And for those who think in the chauvinist American/Hollywood style of "we do it better", it may not mean very much.
Joseph Mertens
Look up Ghost Cities in China this is just another of china's ridiculous GDP growth projects that rarely pay off. Art requires Freedom you are not going to find it in China.
Bob Ehresman
Sorry no. The Boeing Commercial Aircraft plant in Everett WA is still king.
Jack Fancy
My office will be there as of next month and I can accurately say that it's an awesome building. One must do research on Chengdu to fully understand why this building and it's location makes perfect sense.
My lunch breaks are going to be rather nice....
JAT
Largest building, fastest trains, most college graduates, soon-to-be-biggest economy... We're falling behind fast folks. Our world dominance will soon be a thing of the past. Get used to it!
Lumen
Did they actually describe their road infrastructure as 'omnipresent'? Twice? Leave the omni descriptions to God, thank you very much!
At 13:40, did they actually use 'pompous' as a complimentary adjective? Wow! Can anyone say self-aggrandizement? While giving them props on the accommodations, I must say they have to work on the humility component, or lack thereof!
Ron Johnson
"Our world dominance will soon be a thing of the past."
US global domination was a fluke for which we must thank Hitler and Churchill. It was inevitable that such dominance is fleeting.
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