US firm Kohn Pedersen Fox has completed a 530-metre skyscraper in Guangzhou, the second tallest in all of China and the fifth tallest in the world.
KPF's CTF Finance Centre is located in Guangzhou's Zhujiang New Town and is the second of two towers built on a site overlooking the Pearl River.
Image courtesy of K11 of New World Development
At 530 metres, the skyscraper is the tallest in the city. It comes in at just over 100 metres lower than China's highest building, the 632-metre-high Shanghai Tower ? which is also the world's second-tallest skyscraper.
Opening late last year, the CTF Finance centre was the tallest tower to complete in 2016. It is certified by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) as the world's fifth tallest skyscraper.
Developed by New World Development Company, the 111-storey-high mixed-used tower ? named as one of Dezeen's top skyscrapers of 2016 ? includes offices, a conference centre, a hotel, a shopping centre and a viewing deck.
It features four steps in the exterior that denote the changing functions inside the building, while the level of each setback corresponds with varying heights of nearby buildings.
Verdant outdoor terraces occupy the top of the indents, offering views across the city in all directions.

Underneath, a subterranean retail concourse connects with transport interchanges, directly integrating the project into the city and the wider Pearl River Delta region.
To achieve the height, a square...