"Towards the end of 2005—a year in which a new skyscraper earned the title of tallest in the world and construction in China continued at a scale that makes the Pyramids look like ant-hills—we were inspired to come up with a list of new wonders of the world. What, we asked, raises a building from mere architecture to a marvel of innovation?"

"The unique feature of the complex is an undulating glass-and-steel canopy that stretches for 1,300 meters, connecting the myriad buildings and funneling light into the spaces below. The complex spatial geometry of this roof structure forced the engineers to develop an irregular grid system: the volcano-like protuberance near the entrance is formed by a square mesh, the
free-formed portion of the canopy is formed by rhombic meshes, and some triangular meshes are used in the areas of double curvature. The engineers put the design through wind-tunnel tests to ensure that it would handle the loads."