12 Comments

1. David  •  Jul 1, 2009 @5:24 pm
   

   Oops

2. Chris Berez  •  Jul 1, 2009 @5:37 pm
   

   Well, I can safely say I’ve never seen anything like that before. Yikes!

3. VRaverna  •  Jul 1, 2009 @6:41 pm
   

   Strange that most of the windows are relatively intact. I guess the building didn’t suddenly collapse but slowly tilted down.

4. lpont  •  Jul 1, 2009 @8:52 pm
   

   Forwarded this link on to my mother’s husband who is an architect….I’ll see what he thinks. Quite certain this is not one of his projects!!!

5. Scott Jacobs  •  Jul 1, 2009 @10:28 pm
   

   My dad was actually IN Shanghai when that happened.

   And actually, it looks like very few of the windows are intact. it looks like all windows for the actual units are busted out, with only the insanely thick stuff in the stairwells surviving…

6. Windypundit  •  Jul 2, 2009 @12:54 am
   

   It’s got to be some sort of pre-fab, pre-tensioned construction not to have shattered into rubble—more like tipping over a stack of boxes than a collapsing building.

7. Danimal  •  Jul 2, 2009 @6:48 am
   

   Hey! Thanks for posting that the day my 16-year-old son is to arrive in China! Gulp!

8. TheadoptionDH  •  Jul 2, 2009 @10:07 am
   

   The answer to their problem lies in the number of stories

9. albertD  •  Jul 2, 2009 @11:02 am
   

   This is a wood frame structure or a magical rubber composite with a stucco exterior finish. This would explain what you see.

10. Patrick  •  Jul 2, 2009 @11:47 am
    

    Right on Albert. The facade is almost certainly an exterior insulation finishing system, popularly known as “synthetic stucco,” a product which is commonly used in Europe and Asia, but has encountered trouble in residential applications in the United States.

    I know of no other building facade material that could have survived such an event.

11. lpont  •  Jul 2, 2009 @5:12 pm
    

    Hmm, maybe we should make cars out of this material…..then maybe we might survive car crashes in tact. Food for thought.

12. Christ on a Cracker  •  Jul 5, 2009 @10:54 am
    

    The caption on the picture is wrong. This is actually a new secret Chinese building technique. The put together the building on the horizonal, then flip it up to vertical.

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