A five-storey building in Shanghai just ‘walked’1 min read

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Can 2020 get any weirder? In the last few months, we’ve lived through a pandemic, a star disappearing, ‘murder hornets’, and now a walking building?!

Well, that’s what residents of Shanghai, in China, got to see in October when a five-storey building started ‘walking’ through the streets.

The explanation, however, is less unusual and more fascinating. Using a new technology developed to help move old structures, authorities were able to shift the Lagena Primary School in Huangpu district. Giving this 85-year-old building ‘legs’ was part of an effort to preserve historic buildings.

Let’s understand how this technology works! The ‘walking machine’ comprises almost 200 robotic devices that were fitted onto the building. These devices, fitted with wheels, acted like the 7,600-tonne (1 tonne is a 1,000 kgs!) building’s legs, and helped it move smoothly without destroying its beauty.

So technicians from a construction company fitted the huge building with 198 robotic devices which functioned as its “legs”. They were fitted with wheels which allowed in the movement of this 7,600 ton building smooth! Workers dug around the building to install these supports underneath. It took about 18 days to relocate the building to its new location.

The school, built in 1935, was relocated from its location to make space for a new commercial and office complex.

Sources: news18.com; CNN Style