Construction for the 228-meter high "Ganghui Twin Towers" has been kicked off in Xujiahui, being the first of its kind in Shanghai. Will the high towers cause "man-made typhoon" in the area? Zheng Shiling, expert of architecture and city design from Tongji University, said that the twin towers may cause changes of wind speed in surrounding buildings, but won't bring about an artificial typhoon.
In the US super towers are troubled by "artificial winds". Take the world trade center destroyed in "September 11" for example, there is a narrow passage between the two towers. When wind passes through, it sometimes forms a whirlwind with so high a speed as of 120km per hour, equal to a typhoon of force 12 on the Beaufort scale.
The distance between the two towers at Xujiahui is no more than 50 meters, and strong wind may probably be formed if no scientific design is made. But the wind can be avoided through planting trees in proper places and adjusting the height of other buildings, expert said.
From the beginning designers has considered avoiding the wind as much as possible, as reported, and it has been decided that no overhead walkway will be built to link up the two towers.
(People's Daily March 17, 2003)
