1) A firm foundation
1) A
large pit is dug and filled with concrete to form a solid base for the
foundation. 2) Piles are driven deep into the ground to support the massive amount of stress from the skyscraper.
3) The earth of the building site is carefully examined, before the engineers decide on which foundations to lay.
There are 4 different kinds of foundations: floating raft foundations, friction piles, piers with splayed bases and bearing piles.
¡@
2) Erecting a climbing tower crane
The
crane is used to lift wall panels and steel girders into place. As the
building gets taller, so does the climbing tower crane.
1) The crane is
bolted to a huge concrete slab, in order to keep it steady in the process.
2) A
mobile crane erects the first few sections of the climbing tower crane.
3) A climbing frame is placed near the top. It is a special section with
an open side and is slightly larger than a normal one.
4) The climbing tower crane starts to dismantle itself with its hook, one section at a time.
3) The construction of the main body of the skyscraper
There are 3 common methods of building the main body of the
skyscrapers: the unit slab frame method, the tubular frame method, and the
central core method. {image}
In unit slab construction, the floor sections are lifted by a screw-up jack
at the top of the building, one on top of the other.
In tubular frame construction, floors and curtains of glass/concrete walls
are attached to the steel frame of girders of the building.
In central core construction, a strong central column, which encloses the
lifts and staircases, is erected, and then the skyscraper is built around
the core.
These are a few pictures of a building site near my (Angeline's) home. Rollover the photos for more information.
