Building a Hotel in Six Days: A Time-Lapse of China's Construction Miracle

A time-lapse video captures the dizzying pace of building in the country.

This hotel was built in six days. (ArchDaily)

Explaining why China's economy has boomed so much over the past 35 years is a complicated endeavor more suited for a book, but one crude way to describe it is this: China has built a lot of things very, very fast. 

How fast? Well, consider the example of this 15- story building constructed in six days in Changsha, the capital of central China's Hunan Province. In 2010, a city resident created this time lapse video showing the incredibly fast construction of the Ark Hotel:

Why are Chinese buildings built so quickly? One well-publicized factor is corruption: Chinese construction projects are prone to bribery and corner-cutting, and the resulting structures typically do not last very long. Newer Chinese buildings, though, also use prefabricated modular technology, something that has shortened construction time without a corresponding sacrifice of safety standards. 

Then, there is the labor force, which usually consists of undocumented internal migrants working for very long hours at low wages. These workers lack the means to complain of unfair labor conditions, and construction strikes are rare in China -- something that helps keep building projects on schedule.

Reforming labor laws -- and enforcing building codes -- is one of China's long-term challenges, so eventually stricter laws might make such lightning-speed construction projects less common. But in the meantime, residents in cities such as Changsha can still have the unsettling experience of going on vacation for a week -- and seeing a brand new hotel pop up when they get back.

Modular Makes for Faster Hotel Construction

When building a hotel, there are many decisions that need to be made. One of those decisions is the type of construction. There are a variety of reasons to use modular hotel construction beginning with its efficiency.

A modular hotel is a more efficient way for construction because as the building is being constructed off-site, site work commences to install foundation, utilities and site grading. Modular construction is the only method that allows for the site of the hotel to be prepared at the same time that the hotel is being constructed. This is a great way to have the hotel completed quickly, bringing in revenue as soon as possible.

Along with efficiency, prefab hotels are built using quality construction. All types of construction, whether it is traditional or modular, have codes and standards that need to be met. Modular construction meets and even surpasses many of these codes. Because a modular hotel is moved from the factory where it is constructed, to the site where it will remain, quality of construction is extremely important to ensure that the building remains strong during and after transportation. Only quality products are used during the construction of the hotel and the materials used are protected from outdoor elements. This helps to ensure that they remain in perfect condition.

Because modular hotels are constructed inside of a climate controlled factory building, deadlines can more easily be met. There will not be delays in the construction due to weather, which helps to keep everything on track. In traditional construction, there can be delays due to rain, high winds or other types of weather. When this happens, there are often setbacks in the construction timeline however; this is not an issue with modular hotel construction.