How Entire Buildings Are Relocated

It may be hard to believe but buildings can be moved intact to entirely new spots.
Loukia Papadopoulos

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We tend to think of buildings as these large stationary structures that can't be moved but that's not always the case. In fact, on many occasions, buildings have been moved to new locations.

Don't believe us? Watch this impressive video of an 85-year-old Chinese building literally walk itself to a new spot. OK, so it did not literally walk its way there. Instead, it was transported through advanced engineering but the video played in fast forward sure does make it look like the building is walking.

So how do engineers manage the enormous task of relocating a building? That is the question we seek to answer in today's video.

The process is technically called “structure relocation” and it is both technologically challenging and incredibly interesting. In theory, structure relocation can be applied to any building but heavy masonry or large buildings might not make financial sense to move.

On many occasions, it is simply easier and cheaper to demolish an old building and produce a new one from scratch. But what do you do about old buildings with historical value? This is one occasion where structure relocation might be preferable despite the associated costs.