Chinese company Broad Sustainable Building is intending to follow through with a proposal to build the world’s tallest skyscraper in a mere 90 days.
The building – Sky City – will comprise 220 storeys and house 31,400 people. The building will be built in the city of Changsha in the Hunan province of China if government approval is granted.
Past Accolades
Broad Sustainable Building is a company with a reputation. Their reputation is for one thing – speed. Having already built a 15-storey hotel in just 48 hours, the Chinese company is looking to further their global fame by continuing down the road of super-fast monolithic construction projects.
The Sky City Project
As reported by the New York Daily News, the current record holder for the world’s tallest building – the Burj Khalifi in Dubai – took around five years to complete. So how can Broad Sustainable Building expect to compete?
Their proposals include plans for workers to build 5-storeys each day after an initial period laying the foundations of the building (which will not be included in the 90-day deadline) But the company have never approached a project of this size before, and some industry experts say their ambitions are a little inflated for this point in the company’s global career.
Safety on Site
As height safety specialists, we love to look at stories like this from a purely safety-related view. There are always safety issues when building at height – proficient edge protection, height safety training for all employees, keeping site visitors safe, the impact of weather on safety equipment, etc. It’s estimated the project will employ around 3,000 workers, all of whom will need to be exceptionally proficient working at height.
New Techniques
As one commenter on the Daily Mail pointed out, some London Tube stations have been undergoing building work for years, only for the improvements to break and be cordoned off again, so time doesn’t always mean quality. However, the planned pace of the Sky City build will mean numerous exciting new building techniques will come into play.
Perhaps the most significant being the prefabrication of wall, ceiling and floor panels offsite. It’s then proposed that these pieces will be brought to the main Sky City build and slotted into place with things like internal wiring and plumbing systems already built into the segments. These elements are then to be connected to form the enormous structure.
It’s going to be really interesting to follow the project if it’s granted permission by the Chinese government. A huge part of the Chinese construction industry is about breaking records and finding the fastest low-cost ways to create globally recognisable buildings and landscape features. We’ll keep you posted on the Sky City project as it enters the final stages of planning approval and work begins on the foundation levels.