In case you missed it – World’s largest building | World’s worst bird rescue

Imagine a building so large that it requires its own sun. Well, that is the case for the largest free standing building in the world that was recently opened in China this month – and it only took 3 years to complete.

The New Century Global Center is situated in the heart of a booming area of Chengdu, Sichuan Province and has been described by Chinese guide Liu Xun as “an ocean city built by man”.

The building is said to be 500 metres long, 400 metres wide and 100 metres high with a total area of 19 million sq.ft. That makes it large enough to accommodate 20 Sydney Opera Houses; almost three times the size of the Pentagon in Washington D.C.

As well as having its own artificial sun that will provide light and heat to its many visitors, the center also has a Mediterranean Village, offices, a 14 screen Cineplex, an ice skating rink, its own water park and 400 000 Sq Metres solely for shopping.

The opening of the Centre, which has been planned to coincide with many other major developments in the area, highlights the continuing growth of the Chinese economy.

Meanwhile……….

 A dramatic rescue mission took place in a high street in Spennymoor, County Durham this month, which involved three pigeons, a shop roof and some netting.

The alarm was raised when a member of the public became concerned after noticing three pigeons had become tangled in some netting on the top of a shop roof. They reported it to the RSPCA who were the first to the scene.

However, the drama does not end there. Due to the limited access available to the roof, the RSPCA decided to call the local fire service that in turn had to call another fire engine because they did not have the specialist equipment needed for such a dramatic operation.

With two fire engines and the RSPCA blocking up the road, the use of a police car was needed to help control the traffic that was building up.

The pigeons were eventually rescued by the firemen who used their bare hands and canvas bags. Local residents, however, were not pleased with the extreme scale of the operation just to rescue three pigeons from a roof.

John Walsh told the Daily Mail

“I was shocked. At first I thought that there was a major fire.”

 “Two fire engines and a police car? For three pigeons? I am an animal lover to a certain degree, but pigeons are actually classed as vermin. Would you rescue a rat?”

He was not the only bemused resident. Neil Savage said:

“It was disgraceful for three pigeons. The bus timetables were disrupted and the RSPCA were attending. It must have cost a fortune.”

A spokesman for the County Durham and Darlington fire service claimed that the crews responded to the calls as to prevent members of the public putting themselves in danger by trying to rescue the birds…

If you are thinking of a major construction project, perhaps a little smaller than the New Century Global Center, a chartered surveyor can help you. Find your local chartered surveyor at www.propertysurveying.co.uk

Also, if you think the pigeon escapade was bad – read our article on perhaps the longest and most expensive changing of a light bulb ever conceived.

SRJ / BT                                                                                                          01/07/2013

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