World Trade Center Ripoff In Hangzhou? Designers Say No

Recently, development firm Shimao Property unveiled its plans to construct a new set of skyscrapers in Hangzhou in hopes of creating a more impressive and professional-looking central business district. The identical towers will stand at 280 meters tall.

But some have accused the Zhejiang Gate Towers as copying the same design of the Twin Towers that once stood above New York City. 

Although Lava, the Austrialian-German firm behind the towers' design, has dismissed the copycat allegations, it's hard to deny that the two towers resemble the World Trade Center. Just take a look for yourself:

Left: The proposed buildings in Hangzhou. Right: The iconic Twin Towers in New York.

Lava co-founder Tobias Walliser has said that if you, “put any two buildings together they will probably resemble the World Trade Center."

This wouldn't be the first time Hangzhou has come under fire for ripping off famous Western buildings. The capital of Zhejiang is also home to the infamous Eiffel Tower replica and surrounding Parisian-style ghost town of Tianducheng. 

[Images via Inhabitat, Tumblr, Lava, Justsomething, Wsllpaper]