Posted on 07/14/2008 10:42:26 AM PDT by CarrotAndStick
Kajima's floor-by-floor slow demolition is one of those rare things in life that leaves you truly speechless, mouth wide-open, and pinching yourself to be sure this is real while you mutter "what the frak." After all, seeing the video of a 20-floor building submerging into the asphalt as if it was liquid is something that belongs to a sci-fi movie. The stunning process—called daruma-otoshi—is not only almost surrealistic but it helps to reduce the environmental impact. Seriously, I can watch this for hours:
YouTube Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwf9LoS9Xt8
How do they do it? First they replace the support pillars at ground level with computer-controlled metal columns. Then, a crew carefully demolishes by hand the entire floor, leaving the structure resting on the mechanic pillars, which then go down slowly until the next floor is at ground level. They replace again the support pillars with the mechanic ones, destroy that floor, and repeat the operation until they get rid of all the floors. This makes it look as if the building is shrinking in front of you, or being swallowed by the street.
According to the company, this method greatly reduces the environmental impact of the demolition, as well as the time. Kajima says that it speeds up the task by 20%, while making it easier to separate materials for recycling, as well as reducing the amount of products released into the air.
The process is called daruma-otoshi after a japanese game that makes players take the bottom parts of a column—using a hammer—without disturbing the rest of the parts above. This method doesn't disturb the columns above either, but it somehow disturbs my mind. [Kajima via Pink Tentacle]
Fascinating technology. With the soaring price of commodities, recycling will assume greater and greater importance.
let me be the first to say:
1)9/11 was an inside job
2)Bush’s fault
3)Blame global warming
I think that just about covers it
cool but you could not pay me enough to stand under it
-bflv-
Brilliant idea! And not the jumbled up mess to deal with.
Of course we Americans like to blow stuff up, so I don’t know how well this will go over.
Pretty cool!
I still prefer to watch them blow.
“.... this method greatly reduces the environmental impact of the demolition...”
Meaning that cloud of dust that dissipates in about 10 minutes?
***
and a rather anti-climactic video.
AND I'm so sick and tired of everything "Saving the environment/planet." Really sick of it.
...in the middle of a huge city that has absolutely destroyed every bit of “nature” to exist?
That’s sure seems like a potential nightmare if one or more of those supports collapsed at a different rate that the others. That and the workers walking around nonchalantly. I guess the Japanese have more faith it their engineers and technicians than I would.
In Bangkok, buildings just sort of do that on their own, at least the older hi-rises. Like Venice.
On my first house years ago, I had to support parts of the house above while I replaced parts of the foundation. That and level out the place so a marble wouldn’t roll across the room if you put one down. That was fun :(
I’ll be more impressed when they reverse the process;
build the top floor on the ground, jack it up and build the next floor under it, jack those two up, etc., etc.
No cranes required, no high priced skywalkers, no cranes falling on people and other buildings.
On the video, you will notice there is a lot of heavy equipment activity in between “sinking sessions”. Way more than in the conventional implosion technique
How is that “good for the environment”?
I hope this post does not in some way damage the supposedly rice-paper fragile “environment”.
Sheesh!
Yeah, yeah ! Now we know how Chimpy McBushithlerovecheney blew up the Twin Towers !
*insert gratuitous DU gutteral noises here*
Not so great if the building is 40 years and full of asbestos.
Abatement is a huge part of the demolition job.
See that building right next door?
Maybe they don’t want that to come down, as well?
Implosion demolition is not the majority method.
You know, that’s not necessarily a bad idea.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.