It can take years to build a multi-story building or skyscraper. The tallest building in the world, Burj Khalifa in the United Arab Emirates, took five years to build its 163 floors while the second tallest building, the 127-floor Shanghai Tower in China, took seven years to complete.
The construction of these skyscrapers seems like an eternity compared to three buildings that were put up in a little over two weeks and one that was completed in just two days.
T30 Hotel Tower and the Ark Hotel, Changsha, China
Broad Sustainable Building, a company in China that uses prefabrication techniques in its construction, built the 30-story T30 Tower Hotel in only 15 days in central China in 2011. The construction rate was two stories per day.
The 183,000 square foot hotel was built to withstand a magnitude nine earthquake. It was also fitted with air-quality monitors in every room and thermal insulation that made it energy efficient.
Earlier, the company had constructed the Ark Hotel in the same city using the same techniques. They completed the structural construction of the building in 48 hours and completely finished the 15-story building in only six days. No workers were injured during the quick construction of either project.
Mini Sky City, Changsha, China
The Broad Sustainable Building company completed an even taller building in 2015. They built the 57-story, Mini Sky City, in only 19 days. That is a construction rate of 3-stories per day.
The construction had to be broken up in two halves due to bad weather. 2,736 modules had been fabricated before construction began to speed up the process. The building has 800 apartments and office space for 4,000 people.
INSTACON, Mohali, India
In 2012, over 200 workers constructed a 10-story building called INSTACON in only 48 hours. They completed five stories each day. The building’s construction became the fastest ever completed in India.
Fastest House Ever Built, Shelby County, Alabama
In December 2002, a house was built by Habitat for Humanity in Shelby County, Alabama, in 3 hours, 26 minutes, and 34 seconds. They beat the previous record that was set in New Zealand of 3 hours, 44 minutes, and 59 seconds. The three-bedroom, two bath home, was constructed for a single mother who was a nursing technician.
Sources: Daily Mail, The Guardian, PRN Newswire, India TV, Broad, de de ce Blog, Time
