I spent a good deal of time with Zhang Yue while filming a documentary about his buildings for the BBC. But for Zhang and his company, Broad Group, the hope is that Mini Sky City can capture the imagination and prise open the wallets of the Chinese public, paving the way to their loftier ambitions. Questions remain for some about whether this model could be scaled up to something four times the size. These steel structures have the crucial combination of strength and flexibility, says Zhang, making them more quake-proof than their concrete cousins. Thousands of steel modules were pre-fabricated on a production line and then slotted together onsite like oversized Meccano. The 204 metre building was assembled at a speed of three storeys per day, thanks to its unique construction technique: it was made in a factory. This is the rather blocky, 57-storey tower which received a flurry of coverage in early 2015 after it shot up in just 19 working days. Apartments are soon to go on sale in Sky City’s little brother, Mini Sky City, according to reports. That said, Zhang's dream might now be inching closer. Not everyone is convinced his idea is practical or safe, and the government has reportedly been cautious about greenlighting such an ambitious structure. The project has instead wallowed in permit purgatory. ![]() If completed, Sky City would soar 838 metres above the city of Changsha.īut in the two years since it was announced, not a single girder has been placed. “Only then will people notice and remember, and spread your philosophy.” ![]() Not impressed yet? According to Zhang, the 220-floor skyscraper would take only three months to assemble. “You just have to build the tallest,” he says. No regular skyscraper, but a 'vertical city' with schools, hospitals, indoor farms and lush gardens under one roof an energy-efficient ecotopia for 30,000 pioneering residents and a giant experiment in commute-free urban living that stands distinct from China’s polluted, more conventionally horizontal, metropolises. His grand vision: to build the world's tallest tower.
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