Construction is planned to begin on the world’s tallest building next month. The building in Changsha, China will be completed in 90 days.
To complete such a task in the given time frame, the construction firm Broad Sustainable Building (BSB) will be building 5 floors per day, to reach the 838 metres that the tower will stand at.
BSB plans to use pre-fabricated components that will fit together perfectly to make the creation of the building run at a rapid speed. CEO Zhang Ye explains that the pre-fabricated towers that he designs use a different load-bearing structure to more conventional towers. His designs require less concrete and steel and can be produced in factories and transported, instead of on-site.
When the skyscraper is completed it will contain schools, a hospital, apartments for more than 300,000 and a helipad.
The plans for the tower are not without controversy or opposition. The construction company behind the Shard in London, WSP, has voiced concerns over the lack of attention to wind load on such a tall building. He told Construction Week Online, “By just using these simple units all put together, you are not going to get enough stiffness; this building will have an enormous storey drift, and it will sway.”
Many more concerns have been voiced by architects such as Aric Chen, the creative director of Beijing Design Week, who warned that China needs to “slow down” and pay more attention to issues of authenticity, process and identity.
The project is planned to be completed in March 2013.
