Noida Supertech twin tower demolition : The stage is set as D-Day nears for the demolition of Supertech’s twin tower in Noida. Charged with 3,700 kgs of explosives, tearing down both towers will leave behind 35,000 cubic metres of debris. While such demolitions have been carried out around the world, India has only seen a couple of instances in the past.
Moreover, the demolition needs proper preparation and the use of a special technique called implosion. It is a technique wherein a structure is filled with explosives in a way that allows a controlled explosion ensuring that all the rubble falls inside the premises causing minimum damage to nearby structures.
This demolition not only changed UAE’s skyline, but set a world record.
Meena Plaza– the 168.5-metre building in Abu Dhabi was razed using a controlled explosion in 10 seconds. The tearing down of the huge skyscraper left tonnes of rubble and filled the sky with dust. Around 6000 kgs of explosives were used to pave the way for a redevelopment plan at the Meena Plaza site.
Situated in Michigan, US, the J. L. Hudson building was a departmental store that stood at 134 metres in height. The construction of the 29-storey building was completed in 1911. The building was closed in January 1983. The skyscraper was demolished in an implosion on October 24, 1998. It was the tallest building to be razed during that time. The Hudson’s held the record for being the Second tallest building to have a controlled implosion, the tallest until the unfinished Meena Plaza in Abu Dhabi was imploded in 2020.
Also watch: Supertech twin tower demolition: 3,700 kgs of explosives placed; here's what happens next
Landmark tower located in Texas USA, was a 120-metre tall building in Fort Worth. The tower was the tallest skyscraper in the city back in 1957 when it was thrown open to the public. It also had the world's largest revolving digital clock on top of it. The building was abandoned in 1990 and the tower stood vacant for almost 15 years. In 2000, it was battered by a tornado. Six years later, the structure was demolished in a controlled explosion on March 18.
Located in China’s Xian city, Junhua building was blasted in November 2015 in a controlled explosion. Nestled in the heart of the high-tech zone of the city, the 118-metre-tall building was knocked down to build a new structure at the site. Around 1.4 tons of explosives were used to blow up the building. The building has been left vacant by its owners since 1999. Also known as the golden flower, the Jinhua building was the tallest skyscraper in China till it was demolished.
The 116-metre building in Frankfurt, Germany was a part of the campus of Goethe University. The AfE building was the tallest building to be razed using a controlled explosion in Europe. The demolition finally happened in 2014.