Shenzhen’s SEG Plaza reopens for tenants, minus the pair of 60-metre masts blamed by engineers for causing the tower to wobble

A pair of 60-metre rooftop masts were dismantled, after engineers blamed them for the “vortex-induced resonance” that caused the SEG Plaza to wobble

The removal of the masts would reduce SEG Plaza’s height to 292 metres (958 feet), kicking the building out of Shenzhen’s list of 10 tallest towers

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SEG Plaza standing at the Huaqiangbei area in Shenzhen on 20 May 2021. The pair of 60-metre masts blamed for causing the building’s tremors are visible on the rooftop in this photograph. Photo: Martin Chan

Published: 6:15pm, 8 Sep 2021Updated: 10:35pm, 8 Sep 2021

The SEG Plaza, the 72-storey building that grabbed headlines and set off a construction ban on super skyscrapers in China with its wobbling, reopened for business in Shenzhen after shutting for 113 days.

A pair of masts measuring 60 metres (197 feet) that stood at the tower’s roof were dismantled, after engineers blamed them for the “vortex-induced resonance” that caused the building to tremble.

“After more than a month of work, the masts have been dismantled, and the building is structurally secure,” Shenzhen’s government said on its official WeChat account. “The tenants and vendors of the building have returned in an orderly fashion, starting on September 8.”

The renovation closes a chapter in the story of one of Shenzhen’s earliest skyscrapers, completed in 2000 as a symbol of the economic achievements of a city dubbed China’s Silicon Valley, which stands as the nation’s test bed of financial reforms and market liberalisation. The removal of the masts would reduce SEG Plaza’s height to 292 metres (958 feet), which would kick the building out of the city’s list of the 10 tallest towers.

People standing in the streets after running out of the SEG Plaza on May 18, 2021 when the 72-storey began shaking without explanation in Shenzhen’s Huaqqiangbei area. Photo: Handout

For several days in mid-May, the SEG Plaza in Shenzhen’s Huaqiangbei area - dubbed the Akihabara of China’s technology hub - shook and wobbled, sending thousands of tenants and merchants scurrying out to the streets. No one was injured and the building did not report any property damage to its structure, or its interior fittings.

Still, local authorities shut the entire building for a thorough examination of its structural fitness. Temporary space was hastily arranged for tenants, to the extent that a subterranean shopping centre at the nearby Huaqiangbei subway station was reconfigured into an office space with tables and chairs.

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