A 5-Story Building In Shanghai 'Walks' To a New Location Using Technology (cnn.com) 36
In Shanghai's latest effort to preserve historic structures, engineers have relocated an 85-year-old, five-story building in its entirety using new technology dubbed the "walking machine." CNN reports: [E]ngineers attached nearly 200 mobile supports under the five-story building, according to Lan Wuji, chief technical supervisor of the project. The supports act like robotic legs. They're split into two groups which alternately rise up and down, imitating the human stride. Attached sensors help control how the building moves forward, said Lan, whose company Shanghai Evolution Shift developed the new technology in 2018. "It's like giving the building crutches so it can stand up and then walk," he said. A timelapse shot by the company shows the school inching laboriously along, one tiny step at a time.
According to a statement from the Huangpu district government, the Lagena Primary School was constructed in 1935 by the municipal board of Shanghai's former French Concession. It was moved in order to make space for a new commercial and office complex, which will be completed by 2023. Workers had to first dig around the building to install the 198 mobile supports in the spaces underneath, Lan explained. After the pillars of the building were truncated, the robotic "legs" were then extended upward, lifting the building before moving forward.
Over the course of 18 days, the building was rotated 21 degrees and moved 62 meters (203 feet) away to its new location. The relocation was completed on October 15, with the old school building set to become a center for heritage protection and cultural education. The project marks the first time this "walking machine" method has been used in Shanghai to relocate a historical building, the government statement said.
According to a statement from the Huangpu district government, the Lagena Primary School was constructed in 1935 by the municipal board of Shanghai's former French Concession. It was moved in order to make space for a new commercial and office complex, which will be completed by 2023. Workers had to first dig around the building to install the 198 mobile supports in the spaces underneath, Lan explained. After the pillars of the building were truncated, the robotic "legs" were then extended upward, lifting the building before moving forward.
Over the course of 18 days, the building was rotated 21 degrees and moved 62 meters (203 feet) away to its new location. The relocation was completed on October 15, with the old school building set to become a center for heritage protection and cultural education. The project marks the first time this "walking machine" method has been used in Shanghai to relocate a historical building, the government statement said.
just imagen ... (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Cool, though why not roll it in steel pipes? (Score:2)
It's is cool.
I wonder why that more complex method rather than putting several steel pipes under it to act as rollers, or other simpler, cheaper methods. I'm sure there's a reason; I'm curious what the reason is.
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It's is cool.
I wonder why that more complex method rather than putting several steel pipes under it to act as rollers, or other simpler, cheaper methods. I'm sure there's a reason; I'm curious what the reason is.
I wonder if moving the pipes from back to front would add too much additional effort, or if the surface area supported by a pipe would be too small, or too difficult to reinforce due to the stress points not being stationary. Or perhaps turning the pipes is the hard part, since the structure can't support being pulled. The pipes would need to withstand enormous compression and torsion, and the machine that rotated the pipes would need to withstand enormous torsional forces as well.
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
It was mentioned in the article.
The layout of the building was such that they were not certain that it would hold up to the forces caused by pulling. It also needed to be rotated and moved in a curve, which would have made sliding it impossible.
I think those are just excuses though. I believe that the main reason they did it is just because it is cool :D
Re:Cool, though why not roll it in steel pipes? (Score:4, Informative)
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> If you have everything on rollers and roll it over uneven ground(and all ground is uneven),
That's a good point. In the picture it looks like the ground is graded, flat. But as you said, no ground is perfectly flat.
> To reduce the stresses on building you would have to engineer some sort of suspension to the rollers, maybe hydraulic, at which point you are back where you started from.
A simple way to do that, used when you want to move a house to the other side of the property is - a piece of timber.
Pythonesque (Score:4, Funny)
It's a bit like the Python' "Crimson Permanent Assurance" only a lot slower.
Re: Pythonesque (Score:2)
Oh no. (Score:2)
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Maybe, but ... if the building used to be there and it's now here, that's pretty much the "ground truth".
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Why would it be fake? This kind of thing done for 150 years with jackscrews, rollers, trucks, trains, hydraulic dollies, etc.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]
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Moving a lighthouse in North Carolina: https://www.nps.gov/caha/learn... [nps.gov]
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Re: Fake video? (Score:1)
Oooh well in that case this must be fake. Swapping rails for wheels is just waaaay too unbelievable.
Invest in this company! (Score:1)
Raising of Chicago in 1850s (Score:5, Informative)
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Those that were moved were wood frame structures, smaller and easier by far to move.
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Not so much given the technology of the day - a lot of the mechanization we take for granted today would've been done by human power back then.
Then again, isn't there a place in the US that was razed by fire or something and the city simply buried the old rubble and built on top so the city is like 10 feet higher?
Simpsons did it (Score:1)
Good on them for using technology (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Good on them for using technology (Score:4, Insightful)
“Using technology” is a such great suffix for a vast range of statements, if you want to increase your word count without adding meaning.
I watched TV, using technology. I phoned my girlfriend, using technology. I went down to the shops, using technology.
Re: Good on them for using technology (Score:3, Insightful)
Dude moving a building with sorcery would be WAY more news for nerds than this. This is more "news for half-interested civil engineers".
Chicago did this in 19th century (Score:3)
Many buildings in Chicago were raised, some were relocated to have them properly drain the sewage lines.
Yes, it was not as fancy, and required human labor. But it was still an engineering marvel, and used a similar basic principle.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]
Puts a new spin on the old joke... (Score:2)
A texan was visiting Salt Lake City, and as texans did, he bragged about how much bigger and better thangs were in Texas.
Our wimmin have bigger hairdo's than your wimmin folk here in Salt Lake City.
We got bigger porta potty holes than your Kennecott Copper mine....
We've got saltier lakes than your Great Salt Lake, where we don't just float with higher buoyancy, we WALK on water!
It went on and on, and the host from the Mormon church politely and patiently listened to all of the guests bloviations.
Suddenly, t
Now China can build what they always wanted (Score:3)
A building that can kick other buildings off their land.
Re: (Score:2)
A unique way to solve the nail house problem, as you don't need to force the residents out first.
The Luggage... (Score:2)
Innovation (Score:2)
The innovation isn't in the fact that they moved a building - that's been possible for over 150 years. It's that they gave a building legs, made it walk to a new location along a curved path, and spun the building.
If they want a real tourist attraction, they should make all connections into the building long and flexible, and have the building move periodically (or continuously). It could be called "the dancing building."
I'm curious whether this technology was specially designed for this purpose, or if thes
Cool (Score:2)
Municipal Darwinism (Score:2)
Looks like we are right on track for that apocalyptic future.
mobile home (Score:1)
Jeff Bezos has a new mobile home.
Science fiction echo (Score:1)