In early December, Liu Zhangning was tending her cabbage patch when she saw a tall yellow construction crane in the distance. At night, the work lights made it seem like day.
Fifteen days later, a 30-story hotel towered over her village on the outskirts of the city like a glass and steel obelisk.
"I couldn't really believe it," Liu said. "They built that thing in under a month."
A time-lapse video of the project in Changsha, which shows the prefabricated building being assembled on site, has racked up more than 5 million views on YouTube and left Western architects speechless.
"I've never seen a project go up this fast," said Ryan Smith, an expert on prefabricated architecture at the University of Utah.
In other countries, the most advanced prefab construction methods can reduce building times by a third to half, Smith said. The builders of the Changsha hotel did better, knocking one-half to two-thirds off the normal schedule.
"It's unfathomable," Smith said.
The warp-speed construction is a startling illustration of the building boom in China, where an exodus from the countryside to the cities has swelled the urban population by almost 400 million since 1990.
Click here to read more and to view a time lapse video of the construction. BD+C
Related Stories
Great Solutions | Aug 23, 2016
11 great solutions for the commercial construction market
A roll-up emergency department, next-gen telemedicine center, and biophilic cooling pods are among the AEC industry’s clever ideas and novel innovations for 2016.
| Aug 19, 2016
RECONSTRUCTION GIANTS: Facelifts give buildings new identities, even as they keep a few wrinkles
Reconstruction is always a balancing act between the client’s pro forma and what the building needs to be vibrant again.
| Aug 19, 2016
Top 130 Reconstruction Architecture Firms
The Beck Group, Stantec, and IMC Consruction top Building Design+Construction’s annual ranking of the nation’s largest reconstruction sector architecture and A/E firms, as reported in the 2016 Giants 300 Report.
| Aug 18, 2016
LOCAL GOVERNMENT GIANTS: A ranking of the nation’s top design and construction firms in local sector work
HOK, Stantec, Turner Construction Co.,Clark Group, AECOM and STV top Building Design+Construction’s annual rankings of the nation’s largest local government sector AEC firms, as reported in the 2016 Giants 300 Report.
| Aug 18, 2016
STATE GOVERNMENT GIANTS: A ranking of the nation’s top design and construction firms in state sector work
CannonDesign, Stantec, Turner Construction Co.,Mortensen Construction, WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff and AECOM top Building Design+Construction’s annual rankings of the nation’s largest state government sector AEC firms, as reported in the 2016 Giants 300 Report.
Hotel Facilities | Aug 17, 2016
First of its kind tri-branded Marriott hotel under construction in downtown Nashville
The hotel will combine the AC Hotels, Residence Inn, and SpringHill Suites brands.
University Buildings | Aug 16, 2016
New images of Rice University’s Moody Center for the Arts revealed by Michael Maltzan Architecture
The arts center will foster creativity for making and presenting works across all disciplines
Designers | Aug 16, 2016
CCDI, Morphosis, and Diller Scofidio + Renfro are among ten finalists vying for Chinese Eco-Island design
The winning firm will design the master plan and central buildings for the man made Haikou Bay island.
Mixed-Use | Aug 16, 2016
Goettsch Partners completes mixed-use tower in R&F Yingkai Square
The 66-story building is now the 7th tallest completed building in Guangzhou.
| Aug 15, 2016
SPORTS FACILITY GIANTS: New and renovated college sports venues - designed to serve students and the community
Schools are renovating existing structures or building new sports facilities that can serve the student body and surrounding community.
