Largest connected complexes in the world

[LivingIn622]

I was wandering what the largest complexes in the world are. I know that the Rockefeller Center in NYC and the Renassiance Center in Detroit might be the largest complexes in the country. But what about the world. And if I have those to cities wrong please say which copmlex in a different city is larger.

[atl2phx]

Atlanta - Peachtree Center. Connected via sub terranean tunnels and sky bridges.



From Wikipedia - Peachtree Center is a multi-block area located in the central business district of Atlanta, Georgia. The mixed-use complex, designed by Atlanta architect John Portman, is connected by a network of enclosed pedestrian sky bridges and a rapid transit station that provides access to MARTA. At one time, Peachtree Center included 4,000-room conference atrium hotels (the Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel, Hyatt Regency Atlanta, and Atlanta Marriott Marquis), office towers (including the SunTrust Plaza Tower & SunTrust Plaza Garden Offices, Marquis One & Marquis Two, and the 230 Peachtree Street building among others), AmericasMart, the Inforum, dozens of shops and restaurants, observation decks, athletic facilities, and art museums.

[Fiorenza]

In terms of connectivity, I don't know any complex that would equal Peachtree Center. You can traverse at least 12 blocks without touching the pavement.

[Dac150]

The former WTC and the new WTC are both large connected complexes.

[JManc]

well if you go by tunnels and skywalks, most cities would have similar set ups compared to peachtree. many of houston's downtown buildings are connected via skywalks or tunnels but don't know if i could call it a single complex.

[Tony]

Yeah, I wouldn't call that kind of system a complex either. That said though, I'm pretty sure Toronto's PATH system http://www.toronto.ca/path/pdf/path_brochure.pdf is larger than Atlanta's.

Additionally, Montreal's Underground City is quite large as well.

[brickell]

Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom has tunnels that connects much of the park. The park is actually a 3 story complex from what I understand. You just walk around on the top of it.

[BTinSF]

Originally Posted by JMancuso

well if you go by tunnels and skywalks, most cities would have similar set ups compared to peachtree. many of houston's downtown buildings are connected via skywalks or tunnels but don't know if i could call it a single complex.

San Francisco wouldn't. There are a few older examples (such as Moscone Center) but the Planning Department specifically discourages such things because they divert pedestrian traffic from the sidewalks. Lively sidewalks are considered the superior goal and our climate doesn't require climate-controlled passages.

[mhays]

Seattle is pretty strict against skybridges and tunnels too, between buildings I mean. We'd like more skybridges across freeways.

When I think connected buildings, I assume they mean continuous occupied connection, not just skybridges.

The biggest in Seattle is either the University of Washington Medical Center and Health Sciences Center, or Starbucks Center. The latter is 2,100,000 sf, and the former might be substantially larger but I don't know. We don't have a mega-convention center, which would be largest in some cities. Although, hell, our convention center and the hotel and office buildings sticking out of it probably total almost as much as Starbucks Center.

Everett, 30 miles north of Downtown Seattle, has a Boeing assembly building of 472,000,000 cubic feet, which is the largest building by volume in the world by a factor of four. Think 100 acres and 100' tall, plus about 6% more. If you converted that to offices with 13' floor-to-floor heights, it would fit 36,000,000 square feet.

[Boris2k7]

Calgary's +15 network is also very large (biggest of its kind in the world IIRC). As of a few years ago, it was a system of 57 bridges totalling over 16km. Bunch of new construction though, hard to say how big the system will be...

http://www.calgary.ca/docgallery/BU/...etwork_map.pdf

Once the Bow is completed, you will be able to go from 3rd Street SE to 8th Street SW without ever going to the ground. Rather sickening if you ask me, but that's the way the game is played in Downtown Calgary.

[LivingIn622]

here is the Ren Cen complex. It has four towers around 500 ft surronding a 730 ft hotel. A skywalk connects EDS towers and a skywalk goes over Jefferson ave and connects to the Millender center Apartments and hotel.

[MolsonExport]

from wikipedia

Montreal's Underground City (French: La ville souterraine) is the set of interconnected complexes (both above and below ground) in and around downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is also known as the indoor city (ville intérieure), and is the largest underground complex in the world.

In 2004 the downtown segments of the underground city were rebranded and given the name RÉSO. The name RÉSO is a homonym of the French word réseau, or network (as in a network of tunnels). The circle and downward pointing arrow which make up the logo or symbol of the Montreal metro (and can be seen outside all metro stations) is integrated within the RÉSO logo, as the "O" at the end of the word. Schematic maps bearing the RÉSO logo are found throughout the network. The largest and best-known segment is located in the centre of downtown, delimited by the Peel and Place-des-Arts metro stations on the Green Line and the Lucien-L'Allier and Place-d'Armes stations on the Orange Line.

With over 32 km of tunnels spread over an area of twelve square kilometres, the 60 residential and commercial complexes comprise 3.6 square kilometres of floor space, including 80% of all office space and 35% of all commercial space in downtown Montreal. Services include shopping malls, hotels, banks, offices, museums, universities, seven metro stations, two commuter train stations, a bus terminal and the Bell Centre. There are more than 120 exterior access points to the underground city. Some 500,000 people use the underground city every day, especially to escape the traffic and/or Montreal's harsh winters and hot summers.

[EuphoricOctopus]

Originally Posted by LivingIn622

here is the Ren Cen complex. It has four towers around 500 ft surronding a 730 ft hotel. A skywalk connects EDS towers and a skywalk goes over Jefferson ave and connects to the Millender center Apartments and hotel.

Also, the millender center connects by skywalk to the CAY municipal center.

[Crawford]

The Ren Cen has seven towers. Don't forget the two EDS towers that were constructed in the second phase. It's really a huge complex.

[SFUVancouver]

I think Montreal wins hands down for underground connections.

[John Hinds]

All of Canary Wharf is connected by underground tunnels, via the shopping malls, train stations and car parks.

AFAIK It's the only place in the world that you can enter 7 150m+ buildings without stepping outside.

[mdiederi]

MGM/Mirage CityCenter, under construction on the Las Vegas Strip, will have 18 million square feet of connected floor space and will all open at the same time, not in phases. It includes 7 highrise towers 500-600 feet in height. It will also have it's own maglev monorail traveling from the north end of the campus to the south end. It is also the most expensive privately funded construction project in U.S. history at $7 billion, but Elad just announced a new project on the Strip that will top $8 billion to build on the site of the recently imploded Frontier hotel. No square footage figures have been announced on Elad's project yet, but the latest renderings show eight 600 foot towers. In December the Palazzo will open and it is an extension of the Venetian Hotel and will make it the largest hotel complex in the world with around 14 million square feet (I forget exactly how many hotel rooms, but it will be over 7,000). These square foot figures include large parking garages and convention centers.

[vertex]

The Infinite Corridor at MIT in Cambridge, at 148 smoots in length, may not connect the largest group of buildings, but it's probably the most entertaining connector out there.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infinite_corridor

[Tony]

Originally Posted by Jonny 5

All of Canary Wharf is connected by underground tunnels, via the shopping malls, train stations and car parks.

AFAIK It's the only place in the world that you can enter 7 150m+ buildings without stepping outside.

Actually Toronto's Path system connects 9 150m+ buildings and at least three more u/c:

FCP (298m), Scotia Plaza (275m), Canada Trust Tower (263m), Commerce Court West (239m), TD Tower (222m), Bay-Wellington Tower (208m), Royal Trust Tower (183m), Royal Bank Tower (180m), TD Waterhouse Tower (154m) and Bay-Adelaide (Under-construction - 218m), RBC Centre (Under-Construction - 186m) and Maple Leaf Square (Under-Construction - 186m).

[John Hinds]

I don't think you can really say a city wide network like that turns the area into a single complex though.