Completed in 2012 as the headquarters of China Central Television, this building in Beijing's business district was designed by Rem Koolhaas and Ole Scheeren of OMA, with the engineer Cecil Balmond of Arup. It is one of the largest office buildings in the world.
Instead of a single tower, it is a continuous loop of six sections. Vertical and horizontal sections join into a three-dimensional ring around an open center, and an irregular grid of bracing patterns the facade. Building it was a major structural challenge, all the more so in an earthquake zone. Koolhaas said the loop stands for collectivity, communication and continuity.
Some critics called it the greatest work of architecture of the century, and it was named the world's best tall building of 2013. Locals nicknamed it "big pants."
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