5,000,000 man-hours gets you
this much building.
When you break it down, that's only 125,000 40-hour weeks. But before you go thinking you might build one yourself, take on board some of these other staggering logistics.
Engineering/construction highlights
- At the peak of construction, more than 2,000 people worked on the project; some five million man-hours were required to complete the development.
- Enough steel to make 33,000 cars was used to make the frame, which took three years to complete and weighs 46,000 tons.
- Its four corner columns weigh up to 100 tons each.
- The building's 1,250 miles of wiring carries enough power to supply a city of 30,000 people.
- There's enough aluminum in the building to cover 12 football fields.
- Its 11,459 extra-thick, bronze windows contain enough glass to produce a single, 5ft sheet 13 miles long.
- Because of John Hancock Center's lakeside location, caissons had to be sunk into 10ft holes drilled 190ft into bedrock.
- The unusual design required innovative construction methods, including the use of "creeper cranes," previously used only in bridge construction, to hoist steel beams into place.
- Prefabrication of the immense corner joints meant construction proceeded at a rapid pace - up to three floors a week.