Shanghai!

We spent two relaxing days at sea between Hong Kong and Shanghai.  Many of the Semester at Sea folks were taking overland tours to Beijing and the Great Wall, so there were few people on the ship.  The crew made us special dinners and we were able to catch up on some reading and sleep.  We arrived in Shanghai early on the third day, and again docked right in the center of the city, with amazing views of the skyline.  The photo at the top above is the view from our ship.  Fifteen years ago, that area was all rice paddys!  Shanghai is a city of between 21 and 22 million people--twice the size of New York City, and is growing exponentially, with all of the development and planning issues that kind of growth brings.  We had scheduled two trips in Shanghai, both related to sustainable development.  On the first day a group of several faculty, along with about 15 students met in the offices of Gensler Architects, designers of the Shanghai Tower.  The Shanghai Tower is scheduled for completion in 2014 and will be the second tallest building in the world.  It incorporates many green building features, including geothermal HVAC, wind turbines at the top of the building, and a rainwater collection system for greywater use.  The shape of the building is a spiral which reduces wind force, so the building can be designed with fewer materials.  The Gensler architects were very generous with their time and described in detail the structural and environmental characteristics of the building.