The striking structure features incredibly fast elevators, is home to our planet’s highest observation deck and claims to be the world’s most sustainable mega-tall skyscraper.

這個驚人的建築內部有著極為快速的電梯，設有地球上最高的觀景台，並宣稱是世界上最永續環保的超高摩天大樓。

But despite its status as one of modern China’s most iconic mega projects and its ambition to be a crowning symbol of the country’s economic growth,

然而儘管它確實是中國最具代表性的巨型建案，並且希望能成為這個國家經濟成長最顯著的象徵，

Shanghai Tower has been plagued with challenges.

上海中心大廈卻面臨了各種挑戰。

This is how one of the world’s tallest and most important skyscrapers failed.

以下就是這個世界最高且最重要的摩天大樓之一，為何是個失敗作的故事。

Plans for Shanghai Tower date back to 1993.

上海中心大廈的營建計畫最早可以追溯到 1993 年。

When economic reforms were introduced in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the cityscape of Shanghai began to rapidly transform.

在經濟改革開放於 1980 年代末與 1990 年代初開始時，上海的市容開始急速變遷。

To accommodate the demand for office space—and to put the city on the world stage as China’s financial capital—a cluster of three eye-catching supertall skyscrapers were planned.

為了要迎合對於辦公空間的需求，並將整個城市作為中國的金融中心推上世界舞台，政府規劃了三座博人目光的超高層摩天大樓。

The Jin Mao Building, the first of this trio, was completed in 1999 and was followed nearly a decade later by the Shanghai World Financial Center.

於 1999 年完工的金茂大廈是三座大樓中的第一座，而在將近十年之後，上海環球金融中心也跟著落成。

But Shanghai Tower was always intended to be the jewel in the crown.

然而上海中心大廈才是真正的畫龍點睛之作。

Backed by a consortium of state-owned developers and primarily funded by Shanghai’s municipal government, work on the $2.4 billion tower first commenced in 2008.

在國有的開發商所組成的財團支持，並主要由上海市政府出資下，這個耗資 24 億美元的大樓興建計畫在 2008 年開始動工。

Eight years and 128 stories later, the twisting structure completed, stunning the world with its scale and unusual form

經過 8 年，築起了 128 層樓之後，這個扭曲的建築興建完成了，以它巨大的尺寸與非凡的造型驚艷了全世界

while making the skyscraper superblock one of the densest places on Earth—with more than a million square meters of real estate on offer.

並使這個摩天大樓雲集的街區成了世界上房底產密度最高的地方之一，提供了超過一百萬平方公尺的不動產。

Sitting so close together, these towers invite comparison.

而正是因為三座大樓如此接近，讓人不免會將它們互相比較。

Each one sets a monumental record, only to be dramatically outdone by its successor.

每一座大樓落成時都創下了非凡的紀錄，而相繼落成的下一座大樓又會顯著跨越這個紀錄。

But since its opening in 2016, Shanghai Tower has faced a myriad of problems—most notably an astonishingly low occupancy rate.

但自從於 2016 年開張以來，上海中心大廈便面對了數不盡的問題。其中最顯著的便是其入駐率低得驚人。

Until as recently as 2018, the building was half empty.

直到 2018 年的最近，該建築仍有一半是空的。

The spaces that were leased were let to domestic corporations—and only 30 percent of those had actually been able to move in.

租出去的辦公空間都是由本國的公司所承租，而其中只有百分之 30 真的進駐了進去。

The much sought-after multinationals were even more reluctant to sign leases.

本來亟欲尋求的跨國企業則更不願意簽下租約。

There were several reasons for this.

這個現象的背後有幾個原因。

Firstly, bureaucratic red tape and safety concerns from the local fire authorities, who were concerned at the building’s immense height,

首先，官僚主義的繁文縟節，以及來自當地消防機關因為大樓的超高高度而產生的安全疑慮，

meant that it took several years for the tower to gain its full fire certifications.

使得上海中心大廈花了好幾年才完全通過了消防認證。

With operating losses soaring, the tower ran more than $1.5 billion into debt.

隨著營運虧損的飆升，大樓擔負了超過 15 億美元的債務。

Secondly, the building’s twisting glass façade—ideal for offsetting wind loads—created an impractical floorplate, forcing tenants to pay for large areas of unusable floor space.

其次，該建築扭曲的玻璃外牆雖然對於抵抗強風來說相當理想，卻使得樓層的格局變得不切實際，迫使承租戶們必須為了無法使用的廣闊空間支付租金。

Site inspectors found that, on most levels, just 50 percent of the floor space was used efficiently.

工地的檢查員發現在大多數的樓層上，都只有效利用了百分之 50 的樓面積。

Shanghai Tower’s low occupancy rate is painfully obvious at night, when half the tower fails to light up.

上海中心大廈的低入駐率在晚上時格外令人難受地醒目，因為整棟大樓有一半的燈是沒有點亮的。

This is partly due to extended delays around the luxury J-Hotel that has been due to open on the tower’s upper floors for many years.

其中部分原因也得歸咎於本來早該在高樓層開張的 J 酒店，延宕多年的結果。

Shanghai Tower’s world-class sustainability credentials, which earned it LEED Platinum certification, were in fact a key part of its commercial strategy.

上海中心大廈世界級的環保永續認證使得它贏得了 LEED 白金標章，並且實際上是它商業策略的關鍵部分。

Investors are always looking for ways to lower the maintenance and energy costs of supertall buildings,

投資者們總是想降低超高層建築的維護費用與電力成本，

while rent for LEED certified structures can be up to 30 percent higher because of their desirable green-status.

而具有 LEED 標章的建築甚至能夠因為這樣的綠能身分，以最多百分之 30 以上的價格出租空間。

As such, the tower boasts over 40 energy-saving techniques, including 200 wind turbines at its summit providing 10 percent of its power,

更確切的說，該大樓以 40 項節能技術為傲，其中包含了頂部具有 200 座風力發電渦輪來提供大樓百分之 10 的電力消耗、

a dual-layered glass skin that naturally cools and ventilates the building interior, and a rainwater recycling system.

雙層玻璃外層來讓建築的內部自然冷卻並通風，以及一個雨水回收系統。

But these measures did little to attract tenants in the tower’s early years, and in addition to the problems outlined earlier,

但這些巧思未能在早期時吸引到租客，而除了之前提到過的問題之外，

Shanghai Tower found itself completing at an unsettling time for the Chinese economy.

上海中心大廈還在一個中國經濟正處於動盪的時期落成。

With commercial occupancy rates across the city falling, the tower was asking tenants to pay expensive rents when they were looking for bargains.

整個城市的商業出租比率都在下降，而上海中心大廈卻在租戶都想撿便宜的狀況下，要求他們付出更昂貴的租金。

Even the International Monetary Fund (IMF) noted the lack of competent commercial decision making from China in its construction projects.

就連國際貨幣基金組織 (IMF) 都注意到了中國在投資建設項目時，對於商業上的決策考量不足的問題。

No private company in the world could build a tower this wildly expensive but lease so little of it.

世界上沒有任何的私人公司能在建造如此昂貴大廈的同時，租出這麼少的戶數。

Despite pushing the very limits of engineering and being widely praised for its design that has undoubtedly made it an iconic symbol of China,

雖然挑戰了工程學的極限，並因其外型設計而被大受讚揚且毫無疑問地成為了中國最經典的象徵之一，

Shanghai Tower has seemingly fallen short of becoming a monument to the country’s economic success, standing instead as quite the opposite.

上海中心大廈似乎無法成為證明該國經濟上成功的里程碑，反而成了相反的象徵。

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