The Television Cultural Center (TVCC) was designed as an open, inviting structure. On the ground floor, an huge lobby provided access to the 1500-seat theatre, a large ballroom, digital cinemas, recording studios and exhibition facilities. The building was home to the international broadcasting centre for the 2008 Olympic Games. The tower housed a five-star hotel; guests enter at a dedicated drop-off from the east of the building and ascend to the fifth floor housing the check-in as well as restaurants, lounges, and conference rooms. The hotel rooms occupied both sides of the tower, forming a spectacular atrium above the landscape of public facilities.
It was an architectural marvel, and just as we were beginning to love the TVCC, the grand structure was destroyed by a fire. The building caught fire as a result of stray (illegal) fireworks let off by revellers celebrating Chinese New Year last month. While the building cost over $1 billion dollars to construct, Chinese Officials remain tight lipped as to the dollar figure attached to the damage, and whether or not the charred remains will be salvaged. Unbelievable photos of the aftermath as well as the fire itself can be seen on Andrew Lih’s Flickr. As beautiful as the short lived TVCC was, images of the (even shorter lived) fire are amazing in a destructive context.
