It all started simple enough.
Six days. That’s how long it took to build this level 9 Earthquake-resistant, sound-proofed, thermal-insulated 15-story hotel in Changsha, complete with everything, from the cabling to three-pane windows. The foundations were already built, but it’s just impressive.
While still in basking in the glow of success the same group decided to up the stakes a little …
The hotel is so solid that it can resist a 9 magnitude earthquake, as tested by the China Academy of Building Research (there’s a scene in which you can see the testing process, at 1:49). They claim this is five times more earthquake-resistant than conventional buildings.
The company also says that it is five times more energy efficient, with 6-inch thick glass curtain wall insulation and four-paned windows with built-in shades, a heat recovery system and 3-stage filtration air conditioning process that purifies indoor air to be 20 times purer than the air outside. They even have air quality monitoring in every room which, given the pollution problem in China, seems to be an important selling point there.
I guess since the two proof-of-principles have worked out it’s time to go straight to the head of the class.
According to its engineers, this will be the tallest skyscraper in the world by the end of March of 2013. Its name is Sky City, and its 2,749 feet (838 meters) distributed in 220 floors will grow in just 90 days in Changsha city, by the Xiangjiang river. Ninety days!
via Gizmodo.
For those too lazy to click, the magic here is that the building is pre-fab. Not so much like a trailer but more like a very cool and very complicated erector set. There’s video at the second link.
If this project goes off it will be time to seriously think — or re-think — about how we build things. This technology appears to be something incredible. Something we should be using here.