HOW BUILDINGS RELOCATE FROM ONE PLACE TO ANOTHER, AN EXPLORATORY GUIDE

We all love our humble abodes for their significance and impact on our lives. As we move forward, many happy and sad memories get associated with our houses. These memories and experiences make our homes very special for us as we share an emotional bond with them. Hence, relocating to different places can affect our emotional bond with our homes. Wouldn’t it be fabulous if we could migrate our homes as we relocate to another location? Shifting your building is possible with the marvel of construction and structural engineering advancements.

Preservation of heritage, eroding foundations, and demolition are a few reasons that require structures to relocate. Irrespective of reasons to move, buildings have been transported throughout history. Several wooden houses, brick mansions, factories, and bus stations are shifted to new locations using dollies or rails.

Moving Historic Victorian-Style Houses

To restore legacy Victorian-style buildings and avoid demolition, they are often moved by large trailers. Shifting structures in cities can be pretty complex, even for tiny homes. So, more prominent building movements demand clear streets without cars, removing street furniture, and cutting tree branches that allow turn adjustments.

In comparison to transportation, raising the house on jacks was relatively straightforward. The uphill task was traveling for one mile an hour for several hours before reaching the final location. Wheeled transfers are common in the US due to the wooden construction of single-family houses and typically large roads.

Shifting a Factory in Switzerland with Helium Balloons and Rails

The foremost step required raising the building and substituting part of its lower perimeter with vertical beams. The beams would then be pushed up and rested on a structure that would mount on a rail structure. Next, hundreds of helium balloons were attached at vital points to support a fraction of the building’s weight and make this thrust possible. The vertical thrust from the balloons and the pneumatic thrust from the horizontal piston helped facilitate the building’s travel to the destination in just a few hours. The crew used the exact opposite procedure to unmount and set the old factory in place at the new location.

Moving an 8,000-ton Residential Building in Colombia

This building relocation made it to the Guinness Book of Records when it was shifted from one street to another. Urban restructuring in the area needed the space occupied by the property. Hence, a decision to shift the structure by 29 meters was taken.

Over a year, new foundations were built underneath the building and rested over a structure of steel rollers and hydraulic jacks. The complete relocation took 9 hours and was a record for similar technologies all over the globe.

Walking School in China

Seeing a 7,600-ton, 80-year-old building walking on the streets is genuinely fascinating. The people of Shanghai witnessed this tremendous feat of engineering that took 18 days to cover a distance of 62 meters. When the city council decided to demolish a primary school in 2018, the residents protested, and a decision was taken to relocate.

The shifting plan involved attaching 198 robotic legs to the building to enable movement like a centipede. Watching it walk at a ridiculous speed of 0.14 meters per hour and reach its final location was truly impressive.

Moving a Huge Bus Terminal in China

A bus terminal in China was relocated by shifting it 90 degrees horizontally. Xiamen city’s rapid economic growth led authorities to move this massive 30,000ton 162 meters long building to accommodate a high-speed line. Moving this enormous structure also earned a Guinness record.

The crew excavated the entire terminal, and enough space was available for placing 532-wheeled hydraulic jacks under the bus station. Once the station was raised and rested on thousands of wheels, it was pushed clockwise into its present position. This building is the largest and heaviest structure on earth to be pivoted along the biggest arc.