Tianjin 117 Building sets a Guinness World Record with a concrete pumping height of 621 meters
On September 7th at 4:30 pm, the Tianjin 117 project, contracted by China Construction Third Engineering Bureau and exclusively supplied with concrete by China Construction Western Construction, was officially certified by Guinness World Records. The concrete pumping reached an unprecedented height of 621 meters, establishing a new world record for high-rise concrete pumping.
Upon completion, Tianjin 117 will stand as an iconic landmark not only in China but worldwide. Its concrete pumping height of 621 meters surpasses the Burj Khalifa’s 601 meters and exceeds the Shanghai Tower’s 606 meters, setting a new global benchmark for concrete pumping height.
To achieve this, China Construction Third Engineering Bureau and China Construction Western Construction assembled a highly skilled technical team, including renowned domestic and international experts as consultants. They developed specialized technologies to ensure unblocked concrete pumping to such heights. A state-of-the-art simulation test base with over 800 meters of horizontal coil length was constructed to perfect the ultra-high pumping process for kilometer-level skyscrapers.
Admixtures play a crucial role in high-performance concrete for super high-rise buildings. Since March 2014, the project has conducted at least eight daily experiments in partnership with an admixture manufacturer, continuously refining admixture formulas. The independently developed high-performance polycarboxylate admixture successfully addressed challenges such as high pumping height, increased viscosity of high-strength concrete, dispersion issues in low-strength concrete, significant fluidity loss during pumping, and stringent winter frost resistance. This innovation has filled many technical gaps in the domain of ultra-high performance concrete pumping.
Located on the Bohai Sea coast, Tianjin experiences cold, windy winters with average January temperatures often below -10°C and roof temperatures dropping below -15°C. The project team overcame the challenge of concrete freezing and internal expansion due to free water in these harsh conditions, breaking new ground in winter concrete pumping technology for super high-rise structures.
Pioneering New Heights
On December 26, 2011, the construction team began pouring 65,000 cubic meters of concrete for the large floor slab of Building 117.
On December 12, 2014, the project hosted the first General Contracting Management Forum of the China Construction Third Engineering Bureau.
Rising like a towering pillar by the Bohai Sea, Tianjin 117 stretches 597 meters skyward, symbolizing a new milestone in Tianjin’s skyline.
For China Construction Third Engineering Bureau, entrusted with this project, Tianjin 117 represents both immense honor and ambition. Over seven years, the team persevered through hardships, turning their vision into reality. Over 2,554 days and nights, they made Tianjin their home, striving tirelessly to build a new icon in Chinese architecture.
Among the nine skyscrapers over 500 meters currently under construction nationwide, China Construction Third Engineering Bureau is the main contractor for five and a participant in three, significantly shaping China’s skyline. The successful topping out of Tianjin 117 elevates the bureau’s expertise in super high-rise construction to new heights and adds yet another architectural masterpiece to the world’s stage.
In August 2008, amid nationwide Olympic celebrations, China Construction Third Engineering Bureau won the bid for the first phase of Tianjin 117, focusing on excavation, enclosure, and pile foundation engineering. Construction officially commenced on September 10th.
As the core building of the Gaoyin Central Business District and one of Tianjin’s 20 key service industry projects, Tianjin 117 sits adjacent to China’s major high-speed rail artery. Its completion is poised to drive growth in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei urban cluster, symbolizing a leap forward for Chinese architecture and super high-rise development.
Innovation Paving the Way Forward
In 2014, Chen Huayuan, Chairman of China Construction Third Engineering Bureau, emphasized the importance of reform and innovation as the driving forces behind enterprise development. The 117 Building project quickly became a beacon of high-tech innovation, earning the Tianjin May Day Labor Medal and forming the Hou Yujie Innovation Studio, led by project execution general manager Hou Yujie. This studio has delivered numerous groundbreaking innovations, fueling the building’s rise to new heights.
On December 26, 2011, the pouring of 65,000 cubic meters of concrete for the building’s bottom slab was completed within 82 hours, setting a world record for the largest volume poured in a single operation for civil buildings. This monumental feat required unprecedented construction organization and technological innovation in China.
To tackle this challenge, the Innovation Studio collaborated with experts including Professor Feng Naiqian of Tsinghua University. Over 400 concrete mix ratio tests and more than 2,000 data analyses led to the optimal mix design. Field tests monitored concrete performance, temperature, and stress changes, providing a solid scientific foundation for large base concrete pouring. The resulting temperature control technology for C50 and P8 ultra-large raft concrete earned second prize in science and technology from the China Construction Enterprise Management Association.
Steel structure construction posed another major challenge. The building’s reinforced concrete core tube mega-frame system includes four mega columns, eight of China’s largest anti-buckling braces, nine ring belt trusses, eight giant slant supports, and 153,000 tons of steel—exceeding the steel used in the Bird’s Nest stadium. The mega columns, hexagonally shaped, have a cross-sectional area of 45 square meters at ground level, with the thickest steel plates measuring 120 millimeters. The Innovation Studio independently developed assembly and welding technologies for these intricate multi-cavity columns, managing residual stress and deformation, and ensuring seamless on-site assembly despite dense welds and large filling volumes. This technology reached an international leading level, as appraised by the China Steel Structure Association.
The curtain wall design and installation also broke new ground. To meet stringent requirements for sealing and deformation resistance under harsh conditions like wind, storms, and high pressure, the Innovation Studio conducted extensive tests on water tightness, air tightness, wind pressure resistance, and deformation performance. The result is a resilient and durable exterior facade.
Additional innovations include vertical transportation channel tower technology, modular low-level lifting steel platform formwork systems, core tube hard protection and integrated lifting systems, construction elevator sliding contact lines, construction condition monitoring, and BIM technology. The studio has secured five national utility model patents, ten national invention patents, and over ten internationally leading or advanced technologies, establishing itself as a leading engineering think tank.
Breaking New Ground in General Contracting Management
The Tianjin 117 project is China’s first super high-rise to fully implement the PC general contracting management model, significantly enhancing the country’s construction industry management standards.
Hou Yujie, Executive General Manager of the project, explained that this PC general contracting approach, common among large foreign construction firms, strengthens overall contracting capabilities, helping Chinese companies compete globally in high-end markets.
Facing numerous management challenges, the bureau established the 117 Building General Contracting Project Department on December 26, 2012. This department separates general contracting management from professional subcontracting: general contracting oversees bidding, preliminary planning, drawing coordination, bulk material procurement, public resource management, and overall site coordination, while nine professional subcontracting units handle specialized construction tasks. This model replaces parallel management with a streamlined general contracting approach, pioneering general contracting practices in domestic housing construction.
The project also introduced a “Balanced Matrix Management Architecture.” Horizontal professional groups—structural, mechanical and electrical, decoration, curtain wall, and landscape architecture—are co-led by project team members and department heads, with engineers serving dual roles in management and coordination. This structure breaks down departmental silos, improves communication, and advances project management efficiency.
Within just two and a half years, the project formulated key principles for EPC general contracting: clearly defining the general contractor’s role, fostering win-win responsibility, dividing construction into design procurement and comprehensive construction phases, and establishing separate general contracting and subcontracting layers. These principles support smooth project progress, quality assurance, stakeholder collaboration, and enhanced core management capabilities across contracts, planning, design, procurement, and public resources.
Overcoming Challenges to Meet Milestones
Constructing Tianjin 117 has been a relentless race against time—without gunpowder—where labor competition served as a powerful motivator for rapid, high-quality progress.
Under the theme “Jiangong High-Tech Zone, Labor Exhibition Style,” the team vigorously promoted innovation, scientific development, quality and speed, safety, harmony, and pioneering spirit. Labor competitions among six professional departments, over 40 subcontracting units, and more than 10,000 workers fostered a culture of learning, management, and efficiency through rivalry, launching critical “Assault Battles,” “Annihilation Wars,” and “Protracted Wars” that drove the project timeline forward.
For example, the basement structure was topped out in just seven months despite winter, Spring Festival holidays, and summer heat. The team dismantled internal supports and a construction wharf, managing to complete effective construction in under four months. They launched a “50-Day Fight to Top Out the Basement Structure,” rallying thousands to overcome 40°C heat and once-in-50-year heavy rainstorms, meeting the schedule and fulfilling commitments.
Installing the four largest tower cranes in North China was another major challenge. Installation had to be completed within 30 days before the Spring Festival amid haze and snowstorms. Over 30 workers braved freezing conditions, assembling massive components with millimeter precision to ensure seamless integration. The cranes were lifted on schedule, enabling the building to surpass 100 meters.
A critical breakthrough occurred on September 15, 2014, when grout leakage during shear wall concrete pumping increased viscosity and pump pressure, threatening quality standards just as the project approached 416.91 meters. After five days and over 100 trial mix adjustments, the team identified cement incompatibility with water reducers as the cause. New cement was transported overnight, and at 1 a.m. on September 16th, the 84th floor core tube concrete was poured successfully. On-site data showed excellent workability—a 650 mm pump expansion and 1.7-second bucket pouring time—sparking excitement across the site.
Despite immense scheduling pressure, the team persevered through four consecutive Spring Festivals, consistently pushing limits and achieving seemingly impossible tasks.
About the Tianjin 117 Building Project
Tianjin Gaoyin Financial 117 Building is the centerpiece of the first phase of the Central Business District project in Tianjin High-Tech Zone’s Software and Service Outsourcing Base. It is among Tianjin’s 20 major service industry projects, developed by China Hong Kong Gaoyin Real Estate Holdings Limited, with China Construction Third Engineering Bureau Group Co., Ltd. as the general contractor. East China Architectural Design and Research Institute Co., Ltd. handled structural design, and Shanghai Construction Engineering Supervision Consulting Co., Ltd. provided supervision. The total project investment is approximately 26 billion yuan.
The building features 117 floors above ground (including 130 equipment floors), with a total height of 597 meters and a structural height of 596.2 meters, setting a new record for Chinese structures. The first phase’s total construction area spans 847,000 square meters—347,000 square meters underground and 500,000 square meters above ground—including 370,000 square meters for the main tower. This is the largest skyscraper construction area in the world.
The main tower combines a super Grade A international office building up to the 92nd floor with a super five-star hotel above the 94th floor. The 115th floor houses a high-end clubhouse with an indoor swimming pool; the 116th floor features a scenic restaurant; and the 117th floor offers a luxury bar. The tower integrates offices, hotels, tourism, and boutique businesses in a single super tall skyscraper. The building’s base measures 65 by 65 meters (4,200 square meters) and tapers upward at a 0.88-degree angle to 46 by 46 meters (2,100 square meters) at the top. It employs a reinforced concrete core tube giant frame structural system, crowned by a diamond-shaped top symbolizing supreme honor and nobility.
The tower includes a four-story podium on the east and west sides, approximately 34 meters high, connected to commercial corridors. The podium serves as office space and hotel elevator lobbies, with high-end dining, banquet halls, and conference rooms on the 3rd and 4th floors. The 5th floor rooftop offers dining and an aerial garden for the hotel. Measuring roughly 250 meters long, 53 meters wide, and 34 meters high, the podium provides a stable foundation and visually complements the tower’s design. The facades gently incline upward and outward, echoing the tower’s architectural style.
Main entrances are located on the north and south sides, featuring impressive entrance halls illuminated by circular skylights. The North-South Square, designed with meticulous landscaping and water features, creates a dramatic welcome. The south side hosts a plaza, while the north features a two-story boutique shopping area, flanked by commercial streets on the east and west.
The South Square serves as the main entrance for office tenants and connects to commercial corridors, incorporating eye-catching water features and sculptures that highlight the tower’s grandeur. The North Square provides access to the 117 Hotel, surrounded by four boutique commercial spaces and distinct outdoor landscapes and water systems.
Luxurious villas and upscale residential communities with exotic designs surround the building’s west and south sides, adjacent to the Tianjin Huanya International Polo Club.
In the future, the Gaoyin Financial Central Business District will not only become a striking landmark of Tianjin Binhai High-Tech Zone but is also poised to rival Hong Kong’s Central Business District as a premier business hub and a new icon for cities in the Beijing-Tianjin region.
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