This is a contributor’s blogpost …
China has a number of significant constructions, including the world’s highest bridge and second-tallest skyscraper. Soon, China will also be home to the world’s highest sky bridge and first horizontal skyscraper, named “The Conservatory”.
The Conservatory will link four 250-metre towers of Raffles City Chongquing, a new vertical city in China’s third largest city, Chongquing. Its platform will be 300 metres long, 30 metres wide and 22.5 metres high, and will be standing approximately 400 metres above sea level. Upon completion, China’s sky bridge will have a surface space of 10,000 square metres, and will include a viewing deck, an infinity pool, entertainment areas, and sky gardens.
CapitaLand Chairman and CEO Lim Ming Yan said, “The hoisting of The Conservatory is not only a significant moment for Raffles City Chongqing, it marks a global milestone in the field of architecture and engineering. Some of the world’s most advanced construction and engineering techniques have been deployed to install this megastructure on Chaotianmen, known as the crown jewel of Chongqing.”
The construction of the sky bridge has a number of hydrogeological challenges and special techniques have had to be considered in order to complete it properly. A steel structure that weighs 12,000 tons will be created, including 3,200 pieces of glass and 4,800 aluminium panels. CapitaLand, a Singapore-based real estate giant and The Conservatory’s developer, explains in a press release, “To erect efficiently, the steel structure is first divided into nine segments – four segments that are built in situ above the four towers; three middle segments suspended between the four towers that are prefabricated on ground and hoisted into place by hydraulic strand jacks; and two cantilever segments that are assembled in short sections from the two ends of the rightmost and leftmost towers.”
Despite its complicated building requirements, the project is scheduled for LEED Gold. Energy-efficient measures are also being incorporated, significantly highlighting the effort to not only make this sky bridge the highest one in the world, but also a modern one at that.
Upon completion of the steel structure, followed by the details all the way up to the sky gardens, the Conservatory is expected to be open to the public in 2019.
With the development of the Chonquing municipality, the city is showing just how productive it can be as an urban centre. Lim Ming Yan explained, “More than just a building, Raffles City Chongqing is a landmark urban renewal project that expresses and shapes Chongqing’s global city aspirations. Our goal is to create a vibrant riverfront urban district that serves as a dynamic city gateway befitting of Chongqing’s growing economic influence”.
Once again, China is building something unique that will attract visitors from all over the globe. The Conservatory, and the Raffles City Chonquing as a whole, will surely be a unique site.
