This crazy square tower could be the skyscraper of the future

Wikipedia Commons

Beijing's CCTV Tower rises 44 stories and houses thousands of employees. But it looks nothing like a normal skyscraper.

Completed in 2012, architects Rem Koolhaas and Ole Scheeren designed the glass tower to look like a giant loop. It serves as the headquarters for China Central Television.

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A year after the CCTV Tower was built, the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat deemed it the "Best Tall Building Worldwide."

It's easy to see why. Though its design is odd, the tower challenges what's traditionally considered a skyscraper. It shows that tall towers don't need to fit the skinny, upright mold. They can be loopy, too.