Its tiered construction, designed for high energy efficiency, provides nine separate zones divided between office, retail and leisure use.

[23] The first of these, the Jin Mao Tower, was completed in 1999; the adjacent Shanghai World Financial Center (SWFC) opened in 2008.

[40]The principal architect of the project, Jun Xia, said: "With the topping out of Shanghai Tower, the Lujiazui trio will serve as a stunning representation of our past, our present, and China’s boundless future.

"[40] Gu Jianping, general manager of the Shanghai Tower Construction Company, expressed the firm's wish "to provide higher quality office and shopping space, as well as contribute to the completeness of the city skyline's and the entire region's functionality".

[38] In January 2014, the tower's crown structure passed the 600-meter (2,000 ft) mark when its construction entered its final phase.

[44] Following a report in June 2017, approximately 60% of its office space has been leased, but only 33% of those tenants have moved in, leaving entire floors of the tower empty; the luxury J hotel has also yet to open.

"[45] In July 2020, major water leaks broke out from the 9th to 60th floors of the tower, which damaged a number of office equipment and electronics.

[46] According to Shanghai Observer, misinformation videos had circulated online alleging that the tower's ceiling was collapsed using footage from a shopping center in Nanning in a 2016 incident.

[52][53] The tower takes the form of nine cylindrical buildings stacked atop each other that total 128 floors, all enclosed by the inner layer of the glass facade.

[5][54] Each of these nine areas has its own atrium, featuring gardens, cafés, restaurants and retail space, and providing panoramic views of the city.

Each 2-level sky lobby serves as a community center for that zone of the building, with such amenities as food and beverage and conference rooms.

In the event of a fire or other emergency, the building's shuttle elevators are designed to evacuate occupants from specially-designed refuge floors located at regular intervals throughout the height of the tower.

In September 2011, Mitsubishi Electric announced that it had won a bid to construct the Shanghai Tower's elevator system.

Mitsubishi supplied all of the tower's 149 elevators,[59] including three high-speed models capable of traveling 1,080 meters (3,540 ft) per minute (64.8 kilometers (40.3 mi) per hour).

[63] The Shanghai Tower's tuned mass damper, designed to limit swaying at the top of the structure, was the world's largest at the time of its installation.

[17] The design of the tower's glass façade, which completes a 120° twist as it rises, is intended to reduce wind loads on the building by 24%.

[7] This reduced the amount of construction materials needed; the Shanghai Tower used 25% less structural steel than a conventional design of a similar height.