5 ms·

Massive Zurich building completes 19-hour trip (2012)

132 points by wglb 11y ago

andor 11y ago
[2012]
- wglb 11y ago
  Thanks--fixed.
Ftuuky 11y ago
My father worked for a swiss company exclusively dedicated to move buildings from one place to another, like 20 years ago. I remember his anxiety when he was responsible for the transportation of this old church in Lucerne. He eventually came back to his home country and now restores medieval buildings to become summer houses for the rich.
sudhirj 11y ago
Heh. I once migrated a 1GB database from MySQL to Postgres. That was cool too.
jacquesm 11y ago
Moving brick buildings is extremely tricky because brick is absolutely unforgiving when it comes to dealing with tensile stress. Super impressive this.
ChuckMcM 11y ago
I always wonder how GIS databases deal with that (since often they have the notion that buildings of this size "never" move). And I'm not only impressed with the engineering feat, but how the public and the owner worked together on a solution with both were ok with. In the US it would have sat in litigation for 15 years while no railroad work was done, and eventually the building would just be torn down even though the rail project had long since been abandoned. (ok maybe that is too cynical)
- CPLX 11y ago
  That's unrealistic as it implies we actually have rail projects in the US.
  - Animats 11y ago
    Under construction right now: California High Speed Rail bridge at the Fresno River.[1] [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmrGlu485RY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmrGlu485RY
- mseebach 11y ago
  They probably just model it as the building being torn down and a new one appearing. I don't think there are any inherent properties to a building that needs to persist across a move? Buildings are getting moved all the time, also in the US: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Structure_relocation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Structure_relocation
  - pcl 11y ago
    That Wikipedia link has a reference to the relocation of the Cape Hatteras lighthouse [1]. The way the article is written, it sounds like the light characteristic didn't change when it was moved. I don't have any pre-1999 charts of the area to confirm the old characteristic, but that's surprising if true. It's one thing to have a bit of a Google Maps snafu when a building moves, but relocating a lighthouse and keeping its characteristic the same seems like it's just asking for groundings. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Hatteras_Light https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Hatteras_Light
- JorgeGT 11y ago
  > since often they have the notion that buildings of this size "never" move I fact OP probably got this from one of these "Falsehoods programmers believe about X" (probably this one: http://wiesmann.codiferes.net/wordpress/?p=15187&lang=en http://wiesmann.codiferes.net/wordpress/?p=15187&lang=en). It's always interesting how even the most basic assumptions contain caveats.
ciokan 11y ago
7600 ton apartment building moved in romania in the 80's http://i.imgur.com/89bfkSI.jpg http://i.imgur.com/89bfkSI.jpg
sschueller 11y ago
This project is part of the expansion of Bahnhof Oerlikon. The "durchmesserlinie" is the tunnel [2] that ends/starts at Bahnhof Oerlikon and goes to the Main Station which got a new underground train station[1]. Oerlikon had to have two additional tracks added which required the moving of the historic building. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Z%C3%BCrich_Hauptbahnhof#L.C3.B6wenstrasse_station https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Z%C3%BCrich_Hauptbahnhof#L.C3.... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weinberg_Tunnel https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weinberg_Tunnel [3] http://www.tagesanzeiger.ch/extern/storytelling/sbb/assets/images/infografik-8a6a2c40.jpg http://www.tagesanzeiger.ch/extern/storytelling/sbb/assets/i... [4] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UK3ZWcMQ2qs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UK3ZWcMQ2qs (German)
polemic 11y ago
Less impressive, but they moved a historic tavern in Auckland, NZ, recently to make way for a cut & cover motorway tunnel. http://www.newshub.co.nz/nznews/time-lapse-video-of-birdcages-move-2010083108#axzz43TUujHcd http://www.newshub.co.nz/nznews/time-lapse-video-of-birdcage... Pricy, but I'm glad they kept the landmark.
- bnjm 11y ago
  They moved the Museum Art Hotel in Wellington in 1993. At 3000 tonnes it's half the weight of the Zurich building, but they moved it 120m, which is twice as far. Pretty impressive! http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/wellington/9054381/Training-all-eyes-on-shifting-a-hotel http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/wellington/9054381...
Animats 11y ago
Moving heavy things is quite routine. Mammoet [1] is one of the leading companies in that business. One of their unusual tools are fleets of Self-Propelled Modular Transporters. These are wheeled self-propelled platforms with hydraulic lifts. All wheels are powered, steerable, and liftable. [2] Each platform can lift 44 tons per axle. These can be ganged together to make big moving platforms. Hundreds can be ganged together if necessary. They're all coordinated by onboard computers, so that one person with a wired remote can control the whole system.[3] As a company, Mammoet is unusual. The company has been in business for over 200 years. The headquarters is in the Netherlands, in a round building called "The Bollard", which they moved once. (Yes, the whole building.) They operate all over the world. They have seven locations in the US alone. Because of the nature of their business, they run a training academy and have very well trained people. Their basic approach is to plan very carefully, be very cautious, and then do the big job very smoothly. Mammoet is the opposite of "move fast and break things". They move slowly and don't break things. Yet they usually finish ahead of schedule and under budget. They're hiring. [1] http://www.mammoet.com/ http://www.mammoet.com/ [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wL3YvOe0ZgE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wL3YvOe0ZgE [3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ER7JKXYdIhY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ER7JKXYdIhY
- mmosta 11y ago
  That is the smoothest pitch I've had the pleasure of reading
  - Animats 11y ago
    I have no connection with Mammoet. I just like the way they deal with difficult and dangerous jobs with very little drama.
_sunshine_ 11y ago
Moving massive buildings was quite common in Romania during the communist regime, to make room for large boulevards: https://www.reddit.com/r/HistoryPorn/comments/29b7pi/moving_a_7600_ton_apartment_building_to_create_a/ https://www.reddit.com/r/HistoryPorn/comments/29b7pi/moving_...
- rwmj 11y ago
  I remember when this building was moved in Warrington (UK) in 1981: http://www.engineering-timelines.com/scripts/engineeringItem.asp?id=597 http://www.engineering-timelines.com/scripts/engineeringItem...
infectoid 11y ago
Impressive. I also thought someone was having a laugh when they told me about the Raising of Chicago. > During the 1850s and 1860s engineers carried out a piecemeal raising of the level of central Chicago. Streets, sidewalks and buildings were either built up, relocated, or physically raised on hydraulic jacks or jackscrews. The work was funded by private property owners and public funds. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raising_of_Chicago https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raising_of_Chicago
anotheryou 11y ago
Possible inspiration: https://youtu.be/7YUiBBltOg4?t=46 https://youtu.be/7YUiBBltOg4?t=46 (Monty Python = Accountancy Shanty ) And "up" was probably the inspiration for the helium balloons on top :)

132 points by wglb 11y ago

andor 11y ago

[2012]

wglb 11y ago
Thanks--fixed.

Ftuuky 11y ago

My father worked for a swiss company exclusively dedicated to move buildings from one place to another, like 20 years ago. I remember his anxiety when he was responsible for the transportation of this old church in Lucerne. He eventually came back to his home country and now restores medieval buildings to become summer houses for the rich.

sudhirj 11y ago

Heh. I once migrated a 1GB database from MySQL to Postgres. That was cool too.

jacquesm 11y ago

Moving brick buildings is extremely tricky because brick is absolutely unforgiving when it comes to dealing with tensile stress. Super impressive this.

ChuckMcM 11y ago

I always wonder how GIS databases deal with that (since often they have the notion that buildings of this size "never" move). And I'm not only impressed with the engineering feat, but how the public and the owner worked together on a solution with both were ok with. In the US it would have sat in litigation for 15 years while no railroad work was done, and eventually the building would just be torn down even though the rail project had long since been abandoned. (ok maybe that is too cynical)

CPLX 11y ago
That's unrealistic as it implies we actually have rail projects in the US.
- Animats 11y ago
  Under construction right now: California High Speed Rail bridge at the Fresno River.[1] [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmrGlu485RY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmrGlu485RY
mseebach 11y ago
They probably just model it as the building being torn down and a new one appearing. I don't think there are any inherent properties to a building that needs to persist across a move? Buildings are getting moved all the time, also in the US: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Structure_relocation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Structure_relocation
- pcl 11y ago
  That Wikipedia link has a reference to the relocation of the Cape Hatteras lighthouse [1]. The way the article is written, it sounds like the light characteristic didn't change when it was moved. I don't have any pre-1999 charts of the area to confirm the old characteristic, but that's surprising if true. It's one thing to have a bit of a Google Maps snafu when a building moves, but relocating a lighthouse and keeping its characteristic the same seems like it's just asking for groundings. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Hatteras_Light https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Hatteras_Light
JorgeGT 11y ago
> since often they have the notion that buildings of this size "never" move I fact OP probably got this from one of these "Falsehoods programmers believe about X" (probably this one: http://wiesmann.codiferes.net/wordpress/?p=15187&lang=en http://wiesmann.codiferes.net/wordpress/?p=15187&lang=en). It's always interesting how even the most basic assumptions contain caveats.

ciokan 11y ago

7600 ton apartment building moved in romania in the 80's http://i.imgur.com/89bfkSI.jpg http://i.imgur.com/89bfkSI.jpg

sschueller 11y ago

This project is part of the expansion of Bahnhof Oerlikon. The "durchmesserlinie" is the tunnel [2] that ends/starts at Bahnhof Oerlikon and goes to the Main Station which got a new underground train station[1]. Oerlikon had to have two additional tracks added which required the moving of the historic building. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Z%C3%BCrich_Hauptbahnhof#L.C3.B6wenstrasse_station https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Z%C3%BCrich_Hauptbahnhof#L.C3.... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weinberg_Tunnel https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weinberg_Tunnel [3] http://www.tagesanzeiger.ch/extern/storytelling/sbb/assets/images/infografik-8a6a2c40.jpg http://www.tagesanzeiger.ch/extern/storytelling/sbb/assets/i... [4] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UK3ZWcMQ2qs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UK3ZWcMQ2qs (German)

polemic 11y ago

Less impressive, but they moved a historic tavern in Auckland, NZ, recently to make way for a cut & cover motorway tunnel. http://www.newshub.co.nz/nznews/time-lapse-video-of-birdcages-move-2010083108#axzz43TUujHcd http://www.newshub.co.nz/nznews/time-lapse-video-of-birdcage... Pricy, but I'm glad they kept the landmark.

bnjm 11y ago
They moved the Museum Art Hotel in Wellington in 1993. At 3000 tonnes it's half the weight of the Zurich building, but they moved it 120m, which is twice as far. Pretty impressive! http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/wellington/9054381/Training-all-eyes-on-shifting-a-hotel http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/wellington/9054381...

Animats 11y ago

Moving heavy things is quite routine. Mammoet [1] is one of the leading companies in that business. One of their unusual tools are fleets of Self-Propelled Modular Transporters. These are wheeled self-propelled platforms with hydraulic lifts. All wheels are powered, steerable, and liftable. [2] Each platform can lift 44 tons per axle. These can be ganged together to make big moving platforms. Hundreds can be ganged together if necessary. They're all coordinated by onboard computers, so that one person with a wired remote can control the whole system.[3] As a company, Mammoet is unusual. The company has been in business for over 200 years. The headquarters is in the Netherlands, in a round building called "The Bollard", which they moved once. (Yes, the whole building.) They operate all over the world. They have seven locations in the US alone. Because of the nature of their business, they run a training academy and have very well trained people. Their basic approach is to plan very carefully, be very cautious, and then do the big job very smoothly. Mammoet is the opposite of "move fast and break things". They move slowly and don't break things. Yet they usually finish ahead of schedule and under budget. They're hiring. [1] http://www.mammoet.com/ http://www.mammoet.com/ [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wL3YvOe0ZgE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wL3YvOe0ZgE [3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ER7JKXYdIhY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ER7JKXYdIhY

mmosta 11y ago
That is the smoothest pitch I've had the pleasure of reading
- Animats 11y ago
  I have no connection with Mammoet. I just like the way they deal with difficult and dangerous jobs with very little drama.

_sunshine_ 11y ago

Moving massive buildings was quite common in Romania during the communist regime, to make room for large boulevards: https://www.reddit.com/r/HistoryPorn/comments/29b7pi/moving_a_7600_ton_apartment_building_to_create_a/ https://www.reddit.com/r/HistoryPorn/comments/29b7pi/moving_...

rwmj 11y ago
I remember when this building was moved in Warrington (UK) in 1981: http://www.engineering-timelines.com/scripts/engineeringItem.asp?id=597 http://www.engineering-timelines.com/scripts/engineeringItem...

infectoid 11y ago

Impressive. I also thought someone was having a laugh when they told me about the Raising of Chicago. > During the 1850s and 1860s engineers carried out a piecemeal raising of the level of central Chicago. Streets, sidewalks and buildings were either built up, relocated, or physically raised on hydraulic jacks or jackscrews. The work was funded by private property owners and public funds. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raising_of_Chicago https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raising_of_Chicago

anotheryou 11y ago

Possible inspiration: https://youtu.be/7YUiBBltOg4?t=46 https://youtu.be/7YUiBBltOg4?t=46 (Monty Python = Accountancy Shanty ) And "up" was probably the inspiration for the helium balloons on top :)