The Future of High-Rise Demolition in NYC

Like New York, Tokyo, Japan is a highly-populated, densely-packed city. Many of Tokyo’s mid-20th century high-rise buildings are becoming obsolete and must be demolished. Japanese companies have developed two groundbreaking techniques for dismantling skyscrapers, referred to by some as “stealth” demolition, that could be utilized in New York City in the near future.  One demolition method entails buildings being dismantled from the top down, with all of the work hidden under a moving scaffold, and the other, remarkably, has structures being dismantled from the ground up.

Only a handful of New York skyscrapers have been demolished during the last 50 years (most recently the Deutsche Bank building in lower Manhattan), but like Tokyo, many are in need of renovation or demolition. Many aging high-rises have low ceilings, limited floor space, single-pane glass, and outdated heating and cooling systems, but overhaul is oftentimes economically unfeasible, so the best option may be to demolish and rebuild. Implosion and wrecking balls are not permitted in NYC, so the conventional method of high-rise demolition entails contractors erecting scaffolding all the way up and around the building, and dismantling it floor by floor. The work is noisy, dirty, and creates an eyesore for New Yorkers.

With the top-down demolition method, an enclosed scaffold “cap” that resembles the building’s façade is constructed over the roof on temporary columns supported by hydraulic jacks. Workers demolish the building two floors at a time, and the columns are lowered into new positions. Because all work takes place under the cap, noise levels are 20 decibels lower than tradition methods and 90% more dust is contained. The work is hidden from passersby, and many people are not even aware that buildings are being demolished until late stages of the demolition.

The reverse of the above demolition method is a bottom-up approach in which steel columns are cut at ground level and the entire building is lowered in 30-inch increments on huge hydraulic jacks as each floor is dismantled. This eliminates the need to have work crews and heavy equipment at the top of the building and is safer than traditional methods. 
Other benefits to these new demolition techniques include more efficient abatement of hazardous materials like asbestos, and easier sorting of recyclables such as steel, aluminum, copper and concrete.

Though the Japanese demolition techniques have not yet been used in the U.S ., there will come a time in the very near future when more and more outdated Manhattan high-rise buildings will need to be demolished, and there is a good chance that New York City area contractors will be adopting these innovative methods. 

About R. Baker & Son All Industrial Services

R. Baker & Son All Industrial Services, a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) in business since 1935, is a premier specialized contractor operating in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico, with over one hundred employees and an exemplary safety record (we have been directly involved in four sites that received VPP OSHA Safety Awards). R. Baker & Son is financially strong, with bonding capabilities over $10 million. Capabilities include industrial and commercial demolition, rigging, machinery- and plant-moving, dismantling, decommissioning, plant and equipment relocation, interior demolition, selective demolition, warehousing, wrecking and razing, millwright, plant reconfigurations, heavy rigging, salvage, environmental services, remediation, decontamination, abatement, and investment and asset recovery..

Demolition, wrecking and razing, rigging, millwright, plant reconfigurations, heavy rigging, Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business / SDVOSB, salvage, dismantling, decommissioning, plant and machinery moving, building demolition, riggers, environmental services, remediation, decontamination, abatement, interior demolition, investment and asset recovery.

R. Baker & Son All Industrial Services
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