Botched building demolition creates real-world Katamari Damacy horror

This botched Turkish building demolition features an entire building rolling, Katamari style, through the streets of Cankiri.

Cankiri Turkey Demolition Gone Wrong

Previously:

I write books. My latest is a YA science fiction novel called Homeland (it's the sequel to Little Brother). More books: Rapture of the Nerds (a novel, with Charlie Stross); With a Little Help (short stories); and The Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow (novella and nonfic). I speak all over the place and I tweet and tumble, too.

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Anonymous

Building designer and contractor: 1000 points. Demolition experts: 0 points. Thats one tough chunk of brick and mortar.
Anonymous

They took it down like they were chopping a tree, by undercutting one side. No professional building demolisher would do that. They blow out the supports evenly so that it collapses on itself. I assume the folks who did this were not expert demolision people.
Avram / Moderator

But they didn’t get anything stuck to the building! The King of All Cosmos is totally going to ream them a new one when the level ends.
nosehat

I agree with #2 anonymous. They seem to have chopped that building down like a tree. Timber!

I’m not sure it was botched though. With the cuts that you can see at the start of the video, it really looks like they were planning this roll.
Takuan

this photo explains a bit
http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/news-182752-130-press-roundup.html
nosehat

as does this illustration:

http://www.esquire.com/cm/esquire/images/0o/cut-down-tree-0509-lg.jpg
Takuan

excellent squirrel hunting technique, but there can be complications.
http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/logging/manual/felling/cuts/dangers/dangers.html
Anonymous

8/1 was not an inside job!
oasisob1

@6: The extreme always seems to make an impression.
nnguyen

I gotta say, as an avid fan of the Katamari games, that the entire thing was not Katamari-ish at all. I know you love the games, Cory, but just wanting and stating that something is like Katamari doesn’t make it so.
nosehat

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxwYTsmNCoQ
LB

That was false advertising. It didn’t roll “through” the streets and it certainly wasn’t a horror (thank god no one seemed to be hurt).

Why would you gut out the side like that anyway?
Anonymous

That has got to be the bravest/Stupidest way to undercut a building. I mean… how do you know when it’s going to actually let go?
Mycroft

That is one well built building.
EH

Alrighty, they should remodel it in place and let people move in. World’s first upside-down apartment building, they’ll be a tourist and design attraction, like the Weird Al of architecture.
noranora

Heh! Adding this to the list of construction hazards to watch for whilst in Turkey. See also: second-storey doors that exit to…nothing, giant f*cking holes in sidewalks, massive store signs held up by string, open manholes, roads going nowhere.

For peepz in Turkey (and other censorhappy places) who have difficulty watching this due to the youtube ban:

http://www.izlesene.com/video.php?/haber-bina-takla-atiyor/1065872

Enjoy!
Anonymous

@mycroft: my thought as well. damn, what did they build those upper stories out of?
planettom

They should have put a Norwegian in the boiler room, and a pack of thermals upstairs. Masterful! Some days it’s great to be alive.
gwizah

Using proper techniques sometimes fails as well:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAdoAHsNyvE
migueljmc

Eheh laughed when i read the katamari part xD

nice one
sf

How to explain that one to the boss?
bjacques

When a friend forwarded this via Sky, and that was the first thing I thought of, that’s when I knew I’ve been reading boing boing way too much (yet not enough to spell “Katamari Damacy” right when I replied to my friend).
Anonymous

ta da!
Ian70

False.
Scixual

Of course it wouldn’t be safe, but I would dearly love to explore the wreckage, walk around inside the upside-down building. Be a great setting for a horror flick.
HOTDAMN

I’ve always wanted to see Katamari Damacy as a live action horror movie.
nutmeag

My thought was more Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle. She lived in an upside down house. I don’t get what’s so scary about it, but then again, I had no clue what Katamari Damacy was before I checked it out on Wikipedia 2 secons ago. Even after reading up on it, I still don’t get it.
franko

well, i thought it was perfectly katamari-esque. i gasped, i laughed.
civver

Yeah, I kinda expected a building “rolling through the streets”, not just merely toppling on the street.