This is typical of high-rise construction... The foundation and ground floor take forever, but once they get above ground and start doing typical floors, the pace of construction picks up dramatically.

Is the camera that shows the most recent construction, the view looking down on the site, not working anymore? The last shot is from a few days ago.  Thanks

I was wondering the same thing.  Maybe that rain messed it up.  I liked that angle, you can see the construction of the garage.  Man that steel is flying..why are they in such a hurry! :-D

The qcs website is back.

thank u jesus!

They are moving on the garage!

I am amazed at the progress with the QCSII site.  It looks like a mini building down there already.  On the site cam I've been watching it slowly overtake the church behind it.  It's getting taller every week.  I expect the core will be taller than QCSI by the end of the summer.  I can't wait to go see the progress this weekend. It's been raining too much lately.

Yeah, we walked by the site yesterday, and they had added a lot of steel to the Broadway and 4th Street side in only a matter of two days!

^I think you mean 3rd and Sycamore.  4th and Broadway isn't part of the site, and 303 Broadway (aka QCSI is at 3rd and Broadway).

Does anyone know if the core of the building is also going to rise 41 floors?

Yes, it has to. In addition to serving as an important structural element to resist lateral forces, the core contains all the elevators, stairs, and mechanical services that allow the building to function. The core might actually extend one or two floors beyond the top occupied floor of the building so that it can contain the elevator machine rooms and other mechanical spaces. (This penthouse area would presumably be contained within the "tiara" and probably won't be visible to the public.)

Thanks for your response!

are additional "floors" of the core added at the top or the bottom?  I would believe it very  difficult to add floors at the  bottom, as you would have to jack up the entire core each time you added a floor.

On every building project I've ever been involved with, we start by digging a hole in the ground and then adding floors to the top as we go up. Why would this building be any different?

I agree with you, but I thought I had heard differently.

I thought that as well, and I guess I have the same question as you, Jack.  I could've sworn that there was an article stating that they were building from the top down because it's a much safer process.  I really don't understand.

Please, kids, critical thinking skills!

I thought that as well, and I guess I have the same question as you, Jack. I could've sworn that there was an article stating that they were building from the top down because it's a much safer process. I really don't understand.

 

Yeah, I mentioned this to a couple of guys from Eagle Realty (the real estate arm of Western Southern) and they rolled their eyes saying that the reporter screwed up that one up big time.  It's not being built from top to bottom and ratcheted up.

I vaguely remember that article, and I rolled my eyes as well. Reason #297 to not take everything you read in the paper as gospel truth.

My experience with reporters is that few understand nuts & bolts issues, since most of them are wannabe politicians.

I think the reporter might have had the building confused with the tower crane.  Crawling tower cranes as seen on this structure, have new segments put beneath it so the crane can climb, not the building.  The building is attached to it's foundation guys.

Makes sense...

Actually in very dense urban settings buildings do go up from the top.  The show Modern Marvels did an expose on a building in Tokyo being built top first, then jacked up and adding floors below it.  It was amazing to see obviously.

They also did a show where a building in LA started at ground floor and the upper floors were built as the parking garage was dug.  They drove the piles and then dug around the piles. I suppose in certain situations this might be advantageous, but probably affects the overall design of the building adversely.   

 

Interesting to see that the core is concrete but the rest of the building will be steel.  For most of this decade buildings have been all concrete nationwide, including the Ascent and Southshore here.  I suppose this reflects the drop in steel prices.  We have to wonder if a building like this is designed twice -- once for concrete, once for steel, and they choose at the last minute to go with one or the other depending on materials prices.   

 

I'm a bit amazed, over 100 years since the first skyscrapers, that neither steel or concrete has decisively edged out the other.  We do, incidentally, have the world's first concrete high-rise here in Cincinnati at 4th & Vine. 

How on earth can you build a building from top to bottom? The foundation isn't set? How did they get all ready the height? I'm confused???

the steel frame is built first then instead of building the interiors from the first floor up, they start from the top and work down. 

Concrete is more expensive but faster to start construction.  It is also better in terms of sound levels.

 

Steel is cheaper but has a long lead time (6-8 months).  However, if the steel is on site, a steel building is faster to construct than concrete.

 

A well thought out building like QCSII can wait for the steel to be fabricated and arrive; a condo building needs to start as soon as they get financing.

no ones posted pictures forever, so heres a few from last night, in the cranes look cool in the setting sun kind of pictures.

 

 

the steel frame is built first then instead of building the interiors from the first floor up, they start from the top and work down.

 

oh ok! That makes sense! I was suppose to take some pictures but  I think I'm going to wait until the end of the month!  I want to see what they're doing with the steel.

Nice photo update here:

http://5chw4r7z.blogspot.com/2009/05/queen-city-square-ii.html

Does any body know if they are going to make all the floors steel?  I know they started making the floors all concrete but now they're using steel all of a sudden.  Maybe it will be concrete core and steel frame with aluminum curtainwal. :?  I see the core form rose another level today.  I believe by mid July they will have passed QCSI! :clap:

Based on the photos posted so far, it looks like the below-grade parking garage floors are cast-in-place concrete, while the above-grade office floors will be metal decking with a poured concrete slab. Metal/glass curtainwall systems are almost always aluminum because it's a lightweight material and won't corrode in the weather.

^Well it will last 200 years. Within the next 50 years all the old downtown towers will need to be replaced because they will collapse. You should watch this show called "when we are gone". It goes thought the years in the future when things start to collapse and plant life takes over when all humans are gone.

Is that the same show as "Life After People?"

Was this thread just "moderated"?

i read somewhere where some major sky scrapers are being foreclosed and are being sold at a fraction of their original value.  I wonder if this would have an impact on the continued construction of QCS.

The John Hancock Tower in Boston was recently sold for a bargain-basement price. I doubt that will have an impact on the QCS project. From a developer's point of view, there's nothing worse than paying interest on construction loans for an unfinished project. That said, when complete, QCS may take longer to fully lease than if the economy were in better shape.

You can't compare apples and oranges either, the Cincinnati developers are pretty conservative where as some of the skyscrapers in trouble were bought in boom times, heavily mortgaged and saddled with tons of debt, they never stood a chance when the economy went south.

That said, when complete, QCS may take longer to fully lease than if the economy were in better shape.

 

I've heard that Eagle Realty is in negotiations with a couple of companies that could bring this thing up to 80% occupancy.  Obviously nothing is signed or official at this point, but it's something to keep an eye on.

Sounds encouraging...:)

also, by the time this is finished, the economy will more than likely be in much better shape than currently

So, I couldn't wait to go downtown and see the progress they've made.  All I have to say is wow! It looks like a building is down there.  It's nearly half of QCSI and it looks really tall now!  So here are some pictures.  I tried to take as many angles as I could.  Here's a link to my flickr gallery to see much more angles.  I can only post so many photos on here. 

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/26444938@N03/

 

 

These pictures are of May 24th 2009, enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks, these are great.

I tried to capture the true size of this beast.  That main lobby is really tall.  The buildings is huge!

Rob Alpern says "All is well."  No concern about delaying construction due to foreclosures at other skyscrapers around the country.

Rob Alpern says "All is well."  No concern about delaying construction due to foreclosures at other skyscrapers around the country.

 

Cincinnati only builds flagship skyscrapers during depressions. No reason to fret, we have prior experience.

QCSII is safe!  :clap:

For you geniuses out there:  How strong and how long do you think QCSII will last?  I'm curious about the construction of this building.  They are using a stiff concrete core with steel frame.  No columns in the middle to support each floor.  When I went downtown this past weekend I noticed that they were using this thin sheet like metal as the floor on top of the steel beams connected to the core and outside vertical beams?  Can anyone explain the process with which they will be constructing this thing to the top and why?

 

Thanks!

^ The method of construction you describe is typical for many high-rises built within the past several decades. The use of a concrete core with steel outer columns is normal, as is the use of metal floor decking which will be filled with a concrete slab in the near future. Structural engineers are a notoriously conservative lot, and nobody is re-inventing the wheel with QCS.