Complex relocation done for 1920s building in Shanghai

A 90-year-old vintage building in Shanghai's Hongkou district completed a most complicated movement on June 1 to make room for the construction of a new office building.

The three-story building at 84 Hainan Road was first moved 18 meters southwest, turned clockwise by 89.6 degrees, then moved another 7 meters southwest, lifted up 0.5 meters, and again moved 6.87 meters southeast, until settling down in the new location.

The first relocation of a building in Shanghai took place in the 1990s. Since then more than 10 historical structures have been moved under strict protection, according to Shanghai Observer, a local news portal.

"This has been the most complicated case of all," according to Shen Wei, the project manager with Shanghai Construction No 1 (Group) Co. "The historical building had to be moved in several phases, because the work space was very constricted, and it had to be rotated to make sure the façade – the most beautiful side – was facing the public."

Shen and colleagues developed a series of new technological methods, allowing the strengthened building to be pushed by computer-controlled hydraulic machines along a guide rail.

The new system increased the moving speed by factor of two to three, and it largely reduced the need for a labor force, Shen said.

The relocation project of this 1920s building kicked off in December. It took four months to have it reinforced in order to prepare for the work. The movement began on April 13.