This Floating Building Defies Gravity. And Nope, This Is Not An Optical Illusion.

This particular historical building in London’s Covent Garden had people scratch their head in amazement and confusion. To passers-by, it looks like the building was cut through the mid-section and the upper half appears to float unaided about 10 feet from the ground.

The mind-blowing installation was created by British artist Alex Chinneck.

The building copies the style of the 184-year-old one behind it.

But it float 10-feet above the ground.

The installation is called “Take my Lightning but Don’t steal my Thunder”.

A woman looks up at the top section of the building as it appears to hover unaided above its foundations, its walls seemingly ripped apart through the middle

To passers-by it seems as though the building has been torn off.

And it’s levitating with a large gap between the broken ‘stone’ walls, pillars and doors.

But in reality, it is actually a complicated piece of technical wizardry.

It took months to create this structure.

The illusion of it floating is created by using a heavy counterweight.

The building is mostly made from steel frame and a type of expanded polysterene called filcor.

It is supported by a four ton counterweight.

The counterweight is strong enough to support the top half of the structure as it hangs over the bottom half.

A steel beam is hidden inside the green market stall at the side of the building and this is attached to a steel platform and a 12-metre cantilever.

Although it is his most ambitious project to date, it is not the first piece of trickery Mr Chinneck has created.

In the past, using similar techniques, he appeared to have turned a house upside down in Southwark, London.

According to Alex Chinneck:

You can’t tell the difference between the fake and the real thing, to touch it, to see it. But it’s hovering. It’s extraordinarily complicated.

As long as as many people enjoy it as possible, that’s my aim. It’s a logistical minefield that you have to navigate to get to a fun conclusion.

“Take my Lightning but Don’t Steal my Thunder” installation will be on display in Covent Garden East Piazza until October 24.

Credits: HuffingtonPost