Shenzhen Stock Exchange, OMA building China

Although aspects of this building look perfectly normal – the straight tower, the repetitive fenestration – look at the podium, it has been jacked 36m above ground level. Why? The architects put forward their case which seems based on challenging tradition, “defying an architectural convention” but also on trying to ‘broadcast’ the virtual activities of the city’s financial market by being more visible, ‘glowing at night’.