The Shard, Western Europe’s tallest building, took three years to build. The Burj Khalifa, tallest building in the world, took nearly six.
But a new 57-storey tower in the Chinese city of Changshan, while not quite as tall as these monoliths, was just completed in only 19 days. That breaks down to exactly three floors a day. Which is quite an achievement.
The tower contains 800 apartments, office space for 4,500 people, 19 large atriums to be used as public squares, and a ramp system in addition elevators, so residents can walk or ride bikes to and from their homes and offices. The building’s ventilation system will also pump out pollution-free air.
It’s the work of construction firm Broad Sustainable Building. The company, which specialises in eco-friendly, pre-fabricated builds, managed the amazing speed of construction by pre-building blocks in factories, then stacking and screwing them together on site – a bit like giant Lego blocks.
Broad Sustainable Building is presumably hoping this achievement will raise their profile: it’s currently angling to build Sky City, the world’s tallest skyscraper, using similar techniques, but progress has been delayed by spiraling costs.
If it goes ahead, the company claims it could spit out the 200-storey skyscraper in just 90 days.
This timelapse video shows the insane rate of construction, along with an hour-by-hour timer:
And if that doesn’t impress you, here’s an unpromising image of what those blocks look like before construction begins.
Image: Broad Sustainable Building.
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