World's tallest structure to have a down-to-earth purpose
China is set to host the planet's highest building and at the same time offer a window on the future
Futurists who have been predicting “exponential growth” in mankind’s technological development might just give a “we told you so” shrug on hearing the news that the world’s next tallest building will only take six or seven months to construct. The rest of us can only marvel. The “future” seems to be coming so fast that in some places it appears to be already here. After all, when the current record-height holder, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, was finished after six years of construction that began in 2004, anyone daring to predict then that the record-breaker could be built in just about half a year would have almost certainly be pronounced mad.
Everything has become incredibly faster. But to build the planet’s tallest structure in just six months must have been an impossibly high ambition even five years ago. It’s apparently happening now. All the world has to do is cheer on the construction firm in charge of making the dream come true in Changsha, China.
The odds are in the builders’ favour, or so it seems. Broad Sustainable Construction, a Chinese company known for erecting high-rise buildings in record-busting time, says it will break ground next month on the project, which will climb to 838 metres, or 2,749 feet, when completed. The height of “Sky City” will beat the Burj Khalifa by only about 10 metres, but this is not so much about how tall it is, as how long it takes to build it.
Sky City’s builders are planning to make the best use of revolutionary reassembling techniques that should allow them to put together parts of the building that are built in different places all at the same time. What has the world watching curiously and hopefully, however, is not just the height and speed of the construction. Sky City, it is said, will provide a window for all of us onto how people might possibly live in the future. While the Burj Khalifa is in a popular Middle East tourist destination, Sky City will stand in the middle of a field in Changsha, the capital of the province of Hunan, with Hong Kong the closest international metropolis – 600 kilometres away.
Behind Sky City is an ambitious goal to accommodate population growth while being as environmentally friendly as possible. Broad Sustainable Construction has vowed an innovative design that will show the world how to plan and build an efficient, affordable and easily replicated living quarters that operates with great sustainability.
Sky City builders hope to influence the future course of city planning. According to them, ultra-high buildings are not just science-fiction spectaculars, but also something that can change how people consume energy for the better. If the buildings are planned and designed correctly, that is.
Ultra-high buildings completed as schools, hospitals, supermarkets, workplaces and so on can reduce people’s travel needs and contribute to environmental sustainability, say Broad and its supporters, who include many environmentalists. If all the positive ideas behind Sky City are embraced, traditional city planning might undergo a drastic change around the world.
The Chinese are aiming high, and the goal appears to be noble. Up to now, we have seen tall buildings created with much fanfare but ending up as little more than extraordinary showcases. Can Sky City, whose groundbreaking work will begin soon, challenge the unspoken, ignominious tradition that the “tallest buildings” are largely reserved for the privileged, and out of reach of the average “men on the street”? It must, if the idea is to trigger a revolution in city planning. If the builders can achieve their proclaimed goal of creating something for the people and the environment, the world will applaud them. And if their ideas go viral, the sky will be the limit.
