Firm Constructs 57-Storey Building In 19 Days

A Chinese construction firm has built a 57-storey building in just 19 days.

The Mini Sky City project in the Chinese city of Changsha was built at a rate of three floors a day.

The 200-metre skyscraper contains 800 apartments as well as working space for 4,000 people.

Wu Qiang, from the company behind the project - Broad Group - said the speed was possible because 90% of the components had already been made in factories, similar to pre-fabricated homes in the UK.

Each of the steel elements was brought to the site on huge trucks.

A video made for the company shows the extraordinary construction process in time-lapse.

Mr Wu told Sky News the company had obtained all the relevant agreements from the local authorities to erect the building and that it complies with safety standards.

A team of 1,200 people worked around the clock for 19 days to complete the project, although the interior fittings still need to be added. The 800 apartments are due to go on sale from August.

The company claims the entire process was more environmentally friendly, as the components were built in factories, not on site. The process also produces a fraction of the amount of dust when compared with a traditional construction using a combination of steel and concrete.

According to the company, it is 80% more energy efficient than a regular building, cutting carbon dioxide emissions by 12,000 metric tons every year. And it says the construction method also produces significantly less waste.

According to the China Daily newspaper, in 2013 Chinese construction produced 1 billion tons of building waste - a quarter coming from the building process and the remainder generated from buildings being demolished.

The new construction method also allows for buildings to be "deconstructed" once they have reached the end of their lifespan.

The Mini Sky Project is also more earthquake-resistant than other buildings, according to the company.

The firm behind the skyscraper now has even taller ambitions.

Planning is under way to build a 838-metre high skyscraper - also in Changsha - which the company expects will take seven months to complete.