moving buildings to make way for underground development
432 small robotic movers have lifted off and relocated an entire Shikumen complex in Shanghai, China, to make way for the construction of a three-story underground development. Temporarily moved from its original site, the cluster of brick buildings’ location allows the developers to build commercial and cultural facilities, underground parking, and connections to three metro lines (Lines 2, 12, and 13) across more than 53,000 square meters.
To move the buildings, the engineers used 432 small robotic movers, which slowly transported the 7,500-ton complex around 10 meters per day starting May 19th, 2025. It was not a rapid relocation to reduce the structural stress and damage to the historic architecture during transit, and on June 7th, 2025, the complex was already brought back to the original site. The Shikumen complex in Shanghai, China, that was moved by the developers is the Zhangyuan block. The construction of the spaces, parking lots, and Metro connections under it has begun.
image stills via Shanghai Municipal People’s Government
Bringing back Shikumen complex in Shanghai, China
For the relocation and underground project, the engineers use mini robots designed to work in confined spaces. The first set is for drilling: a series of remote-controlled robots that can move through narrow corridors and doorways within the Shikumen complex in Shanghai, China. The next set is the one for the soil excavation, equipped with folding mechanical arms so these robots can operate in narrow passages. These robots use deep learning algorithms to identify the soil types and detect any underground and earth obstacles during the excavation process.
The construction company of Shanghai Construction No. 2 (Group), the one leading the underground development as well as the relocation of the complex, uses point-cloud scanning to capture a 3D model of the site. These scans were then integrated into Building Information Modeling software, and in return, it gave detailed blueprints that showed them any possible problems with the relocation. Bringing back the Shikumen complex in Shanghai, China, to its original site was completed on June 7th, 2025, and the engineers have now begun the construction of the underground project. So far, there’s no news yet on its completion date.
the mini robots under the Shikumen complex in Shanghai, China move the entire cluster of buildings
view of the original site of the block
relocated site of the complex | photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn
project info:
developer: Shanghai Construction Group (SCG)
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