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| World Financial Center |
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| Duke Energy Center |
So this was fun.
Yesterday at work, we got an email from a guy in the United Kingdom who wanted to know why the skyline behind the main logo on wcnc.com was from Shanghai. Of course, it’s not Shanghai, it’s Charlotte. Duh. But through the power of Twitter, I found out that the new Duke Energy Center in Charlotte looks a lot like the World Financial Center in Shanghai. I wrote the guy back, then wrote a blog about it on wcnc.com:
It turns out our brand spanking new Duke Energy Center has a much taller and slightly older brother who lives in Shanghai.
The World Financial Center is the second tallest building in the world. At 1,622 feet, it’s more than twice the height of the Duke Energy Center. Its main architectural feature is what looks like a carrying handle on top. You know, just in case Paul Bunyan comes to town and decides to take it with him.
I live in a small town called Newport Pagnell in the UK.
I saw your website because you did a piece with headlines “York to revise Smoking Ban”
which caught my eye, as at first I thought it was York UK. and last thing i want is people smoking in public again.
1n 2008 We went to china for a month, when the “bottle top Opener” building was being built. We would have been told what the Building was called and its purpose, but “bottle top opener building” stuck. when I sent original email I had not looked at photos, and was doing it from memory. and from memory many of the building in your Logo I thought resembled buildings in Shanghai. I have now looked at the photos and can see there is a lot of difference.
Never been to Charlotte, We did drive up the coast from Florida to New york some 10 years ago, but went through Charleston and Jacksonville.
No real plans to come back to the US. After 9/11, I hear US immigration is a right pain in the arse. Last time we came (10yrs ago) it took us an hour to get through, so how long would it take now?
Sorry to spark things of in your office, but i am sure it was a good healthy debate.
No need to be sorry, Kevin. The pleasure’s all ours.
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Here’s the blog: Is That Charlotte? Or Is That Shanghai?
Daaamn! Leave it to the geniuses at Wachovia to take time out from laundering Mexican drug money and letting a lowly VP filch millions via bogus purchase orders to get straight taken to the cleaners for a recycled building design.
There should have been ZERO creative fees associated with that project. Ken Thompson, you are the gift that keeps on giving — this time the Shanghai Surprise.
Lord I love the Internets.
Perhaps to an untrained eye they would appear nearly the same. While they share some similar characteristics, it's not uncommon for skyscrapers to share similar design features.
Shanghai World Financial was designed and began construction before Duke Energy Center, but did you know the original design featured a circular open at top? Only later during construction was the opening changed to its current trapezoid shape.
Complete before either Shanghai World Financial or Duke Energy was Kingdom Centre in Riyadh: http://bit.ly/aDClE4