Koolhaas's loop — the gravity-defying skyscraper that bends back on itself
Skyscraper.
Featured in Rem Koolhaas's definitive monograph, S,M,L,XL.
Visitor Guide
Walk the full perimeter — the cantilever is best appreciated from the northeast, where the structural impossibility becomes viscerally apparent. The building changes personality from every angle.
From the small park to the northeast for the full loop composition. Dusk with city lights emerging. The low-angle shot from directly beneath the cantilever is vertigo-inducing.
Not open to the public (working CCTV television station). The exterior experience is the point. The surrounding CCTV plaza is accessible.
Arup's engineering uses a diagrid exoskeleton visible on the façade — the diagonal pattern encodes the structural forces. Where the pattern is dense, stresses are high. The building is a structural diagram of itself.
20 minutes (exterior)
Design & Structure
OMA/Rem Koolhaas with Arup. The irregular diagrid was computationally generated — the steel member density varies with structural demand. Where forces are greatest, the diagrid is densest; where forces are lowest, it opens up. The building reads its own load path.
Structural steel diagrid exoskeleton, glass curtain wall behind. The diagrid is exposed as architectural expression — structural honesty taken to its logical extreme. The two towers lean 6° off vertical.
The 75-meter cantilever connecting the two towers is one of the longest in any building. The diagrid transfers the cantilever loads through the angled towers to the ground — the entire building is one structural system, not two towers with a bridge.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Who designed CCTV Headquarters?+
CCTV Headquarters was designed by Rem Koolhaas and completed in 2012. It is located in Hujialou Subdistrict, People's Republic of China.
Where is CCTV Headquarters located?+
CCTV Headquarters is located in Hujialou Subdistrict, People's Republic of China. Its coordinates are 39.9150°, 116.4575°.
When was CCTV Headquarters built?+
CCTV Headquarters was completed in 2012. It was designed by Rem Koolhaas.
Can I visit CCTV Headquarters?+
CCTV Headquarters is a real building in Hujialou Subdistrict that can be viewed from the outside. Check local information for interior access and visiting hours. Use the Parametric Atlas walking tour feature to plan a route that includes this building.