Horizontal Translocation of a High-Rise Building: Case Study

This case study presents the horizontal translocation of the Hongxing Mansion, a high-rise building in China, which was moved transversally for 26 m because of modifications in urban planning. The 13-story RC frame-wall structure was built in 2002 with a total height of 63.2 m and a total weight of 109,881 kN, making the project unique as compared with other similar cases. The executive process of this project is introduced, including the initial planning, design, and construction procedures. A load underpinning system was proposed that can transfer the vertical loads uniformly to the rails and distribute the propelling loads from the loaded end to the other end of the building. Anchor-jacked piles were used at the original foundation from the limited indoor clear height so that rails in the original basement can be well supported without the need of large piling machines. A special moving system was proposed and successfully applied, which combined the advantages of pull and push, so that the efficiency and stability of moving were guaranteed. The removable reaction frames were used to alleviate the energy accumulation in tendons and the sudden energy release when the building started to move. Finally, the columns and walls were connected with the new foundation without diminishing their seismic capacities. The design and construction methods in this project provide references to buildings in need of translocation.