To big troubles, big solutions. Large and with its surreal point, if what we are talking about is China. A few years ago, the promoters of the ambitious Ankangyuan urban redevelopment project, in the Jing’an district, Shanghai, encountered a setback that was difficult to deal with: five old housesbuilt at the beginning of the 20th century, which stood where a new underground car park was supposed to be built.
Resorting to the pickaxe was ruled out. The houses date from the 1930s and are part of the protected heritage of the region, a vestige of what was once an old neighborhood of shikumen alleys. Disassembling them like a puzzle and storing their pieces temporarily, a more or less frequent option with stone buildings, did not seem like a good idea either: in addition to being almost 90 years old, the houses had once been built with brick and wood .
What to rethink the project too was discardedclear.
Solution: raise the five houses and move them temporarily away from their plot, 230 meters away, to later relocate them to their original place. All in one piece and without causing damage. Just like if it were a Lego. The operation—a feat of engineering—has just been successfully completed.
Big challenges, big solutions
The works actually started a couple of years ago, in July 2020. As the Shanghai Xian Wi Civil Engineering company explained to Shine at the time, the operators first excavated and removed the gravel and earth located under the buildings, forming in their place a huge concrete slab. Then they reinforced the structure with steel and split each base in two: one half was left on the plot; the other was raised with a powerful elevator system with his house on top.
With the structures already hoisted the challenge of moving them. To achieve this, the contractors used a self-propelled modular transporter, designed for large loads, such as bridge sections, and a hydraulic system that allows the platform to go up and down without cranes.
“We use three of the transporters to ensure a safe and smooth journey. They were directed by an operator with a manual control panel at the front, and there were also more than ten workers inside the building, both above and below, to make sure there was no damage during transportation,” says Yang Jiangli of the firm that was in charge of the operation.
We have lifted and moved five 1930s historic buildings, which were relocated three years ago, back to their former sites. The “home-coming” project took 43 days. It’s the largest relocation project in #Shanghai‘s history, with a total shifting distance (back and forth) of 2,088m. pic.twitter.com/WOXWZnWLoE
— Shanghai Let’s meet (@ShLetsMeet) January 9, 2023
The device they used also allows charging is distributed evenly and ride with stability even over bumpy terrain. Among other things, the system, which does not require railway tracks, allows turning and reduces the effect of such a complicated operation on traffic.
The operation required five days. The latest building was moved a whopping 230 meters away, far exceeding other similar operations that had been completed before in China, such as the Shanghai Concert Hall, which had been moved 66.5 meters, or the from Minli Secondary School, which moved 57. Was that the last paperwork? Absolutely. There was still the last phase, no less delicate: returning the buildings to the place where they belonged.
The Xinhua agency has just revealed that, once the underground garage was completed, the five historic buildings have been relocated to their original locations. And as a picture usually says more than a thousand words, especially when it comes to visualizing an operation of this caliber, it has posted a half-minute video in which part of the operation can be seen, which lasted 43 days. already presented as the most ambitious relocation maneuver to date in Shanghai.
Already in 2020, the Shanghai Chaosheng Real Estate company advances that the ultimate objective was to relocate the blocks in the places where they had been for 90 years, repair the facades so that they preserve their original appearance, redecorate the interiors and market the residences.
Yes, as the Spanish proverb says, wanting is power.
Especially when you have technology as an ally.
Cover image: Xinhua
