Broad Group CEO Zhang speak about 202 story Sky City at the Fortune Global Forum

At today’s session on Rethinking Our Cities at Fortune’s Global Forum in Chengdu, Zhang Yue, the CEO of Broad Group, a maker of energy equipment and a real estate development company, said that we have to totally redefine what it means to live in cities.

“People don’t want to have to get on trains or drive a car to get to work,” he said. One solution: Zhang plans to lick the urban congestion problem by building up. His proposed high-rise prefab in Hunan Province called Sky City will soar 202 stories to a height of 838 meters.

Zhang says that Sky City can be built in seven months compared to at least five years for other super high-rises and is five times more energy efficient. The building will save some 200 hectares compared to typical sprawl development in China and will contain offices, schools, playing fields, stores and restaurants, reducing dependency on the automobile. Says Zhang: “Sky City will take some 2,000 cars off the road simply because its residents can find most of what they need right where they live.”

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