The CCTV Headquarters was completed in 2012. Its listed completion date is 16 May 2012, although the building’s façade had already been finished in January 2008.
The Beijing landmark was designed by Rem Koolhaas and Ole Scheeren of the Office for Metropolitan Architecture, with structural engineering by Arup. Construction began in June 2004, and the completed structure became the headquarters of China Central Television.
The building is often mistaken for a conventional skyscraper, but it is a continuous loop formed by two vertical towers connected by dramatic horizontal sections. It rises 51 floors and has an open central void, making its engineering and appearance unusually distinctive. A nearby CCTV Television Cultural Center was damaged by fire in 2009, which can cause confusion about the headquarters’ completion date.