How do you build a skyscraper?
BBC Culture goes behind the scenes of an ambitious construction project in east London to discover how an architect’s plans become a reality.
London’s 2012 Olympics gave a regeneration boost to Stratford in the east of the city, where the Olympic Park is located. In the lead-up to the Games, a number of large-scale building projects transformed the once run-down neighbourhood, and construction continues on new developments to this day.
Manhattan Loft Gardens will be 140 m (459 ft) tall when it is completed. It features a distinctive double-cantilevered design, which gives the appearance that half the structure has been removed from two points of the tower. These recesses will provide extra outdoor space in this mixed use building, which will contain a hotel and luxury apartments.
The effect is striking – but it creates a number of structural challenges for the builders. James Castledine is a design co-ordinator at construction firm Bouygues UK. He tells BBC Culture how the project’s engineers have overcome these challenges, and gives us a tour of a skyscraper in the making.
Watch the other episodes of High Life:
The secret life of a tall building
Imagining the cities of the future
The world’s most terrifying view?
BBC Culture is a media partner of the Chicago Architecture Biennial, which runs from 3 October 2015 – 3 January 2016.
Throughout October and November we will look at the work of some of the world’s most exciting architects and examine how buildings shape our lives. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest from Chicago.
