Architectural Fails

While the majority of buildings that are erected do the job they were designed and built to do, sometimes architects, designers and builders do get things wrong. When they do it often causes immense death and destruction, and here are 20 of the world’s worst architectural fails.

Highway 19 Overpass – Laval, Quebec – failed in 2006

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In 2006 5 people lost their lives and another 6 suffered serious injury when a 66 foot portion of the De La Concorde overpass gave way. It crushed two cars, while a third plunged over the edge. The overpass was constructed in 1970 and poor design along with wrong materials used were said to be the cause of the fracture.

Ronan Point Apartment Building – London – failed in 1968

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The apartment building was constructed of concrete panels and when it was built quality control was all but absent. An explosion in one of the apartments was the cause behind one corner of the 22 floor building to topple over in the way dominoes fall. Bolts that had become water damaged along with joints having being filled with newspaper, was said to be behind the collapse. 260 people were living in the building at the time and only 4 lost their lives.

Pier One Playground – Brooklyn , NY – failed in 2010

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The architects behind this playground should have spent more time thinking about use of materials. They made the playground have a futuristic look when they designed it is pure steel. The downside was that during the summer the playground heated up to around 127 degrees Fahrenheit during July and the summer months, which meant the equipment was too hot for the children to play on.

Vdara Hotel & Spa – Las Vegas, NV – failed in 2009

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The Vdara Hotel & Spa opened its doors in 2009 and this was the same year that it failed. Guests began to complain about getting burnt when they were sitting around the pool and it wasn’t from lack of sunscreen. It was found that the rays of the sun were being collected by the design of the building and they were being radiated to the pool region. People complained about burns to the skin, plastic bags that melted and even hair being burnt off their heads.

South Fork Dam – Johnstown, PA – failed in 1889

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The South Fork Dam released 20 million tons of water and more than 2,200 people died. A court said that the break in the dam was down to “An Act of God”, however residents said that maintenance had been poor and leaks had been patched over with mud and straw. It was also said that the dams previous owner had taken away three cast iron pipes that had been used for regulating the release of the water.

Kemper Arena – Kansas City, MO – failed in 1979

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The roof on the Kemper Arena was designed with trusses that were suspended so as not to obstruct views. However in 1979 the roof collapsed. The only good to come out of it was that there wasn’t anyone in the building at the time. The roof was said to have been made so that it would release rainwater slowly, so as to reduce the chance of flooding, but during a storm the water collected and this made the roof sag with excessive weight. It was also found out that the bolts strength had been calculated wrong; these were used to suspend the roof.

Gasconade Railroad Bridge – Gasconade, MO – failed in 1855

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When the bridge was made there was temporary trestle work put in place. However due to an oversight it wasn’t replaced with a more permanent structure. When the inaugural run of the Pacific Railroad took place in 1855 the rail bridge didn’t hold its weight and the train crashed, with 30 people losing their lives.

Walt Disney Concert Hall – Los Angeles, CA – failed in 2003

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This stainless steel structure was revealed in 2003 and over the years neighbours complained about it. This was due to the fact that the panels on it were so shiny that sunlight was being reflected directly into their apartment. This caused the temperature to rise by around 15 degrees Fahrenheit and so residents had to use air conditioning more. The team behind the design covered the panels with cloth in 2005.

I-35W Bridge Over the Mississippi River – Minneapolis, MN – failed IN 2007

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During the rush hour in 2007 the 8 lane steel truss bridge collapsed with 13 people losing their lives and 145 people suffering injuries. The bridge had been built in 1967 and in 1991 and 2005 the government said it was structurally deficient. When the bridge collapsed there was 575,000 extra pounds of material and equipment on the bridge, these were said to have increased the weight load on the plates, which were already undersized. Around 100 vehicles were in the collapse, which saw the drivers along with 18 workers fall 115 feet down.
Seongsu Bridge – Seoul, South Korea – failed in 1994

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The bridge span across the Han River, being 3,800 feet in length and it was completed in 1979. In 1994 the bridge collapsed and it was said that the welding had not been done to standards required under the concrete road. 32 people lost their lives along with 17 more being injured, when a slab broke and was sent down into the water.

Sampong Department Store – Korea – failed in 1995

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The building was originally designed to be an office with four floors. However when it was being constructed the chairman changed their mind and wanted it to be large department store. Some of the columns used for support were cut away and elevators were installed and air conditioning was moved. This meant that the load was four times more than that of the original design. On top of this another floor was added in, despite the fact that warnings were given that it would collapse in time. Five years following the competition, the columns of the south wing collapsed and 502 people lost their lives, while 1,500 people were trapped, in just a matter of 20 seconds.

Big Dig Ceiling Collapse – Boston MA – failed in 2006

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The Big Dig project has caused debt for MA and in 2006 during construction a ceiling panel weighing three tonnes crashed down in the ramp that was the connection for the I-93 North and I-90 East. It landed on a car killing the passenger, while the driver was injured. It was found that the epoxy glue that had been used to hold the roof up while construction was made, wasn’t correct for use in long term bonding.

Tuo River Bridge – Fenghuang, China – failed in 2007

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In 2007 this vehicle and pedestrian bridge collapsed when it was being constructed when it was found that the frame supporting the 140 foot structure of stone and cement had been taken away so it could work on a different part of the bridge. It seems that migrant workers had used cost cutting materials and there was no steel reinforcement used. The bridge collapsed killing 30 people and burying a total of 60.

Ville Marie Tunnel – Montreal, Canada – failed in 2011

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In 2011 one of the concrete beams along with the roof section that the beam was supporting, came down inside the tunnel. At the time there wasn’t much traffic and it was a miracle that no one was killed. The engineers said that inspections had been rare and cursory and repairs had been suggested in 2008 but had not been undertaken. The government said that it was construction work that had been poorly planned that was the cause of the collapse.

Knickerbocker Theater – Washington, D.C – failed in 1922

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The theatre crumbled to pieces with more than 98 people losing their lives who were inside at the time along with another 133 suffering injury. Snow from a storm that had hit days earlier had piled on the roof and added weight to it. Along with this is was said that the building has structural defects, which caused the roof of the building to fall on top of the balcony, which in turn fell on the orchestra and crushed hundreds of people. The architect and owner of the building were to later commit suicide.

Versailles Wedding Hall – Jerusalem, Israel – failed in 2001

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The wedding hall was designed to have a single three story side along with one two story. However during the construction plans were changed and another floor was added to the shorter side. This meant that building was done on what was to have been the roof. The third story of the building therefore had more loading that in the original plans and so partitions were placed to take extra weight. However just before the collapse the owner removed the partitions and the third story flooring sagged. The owner thought it nothing more than an aesthetic problem and used filler to level out the floor. The third floor was hosting a wedding when thanks to the extra weight, it collapsed, killing 23 people and injuring another 380, when it crashed onto the floor underneath.

The Pemberton Mill – Lawrence MA – failed in 1860

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The upper floor of the mill fell down on the people below it with no warning at all. In total 145 workers lost their lives along with another 166 suffering injury. There was machinery that was very heavy on the top floor and it was said that the walls had not been mortared properly. Cheap brittle iron pillars were said to have been used in the construction and were said to be one of the reasons behind the collapse. During the rescue of 600 workers a lantern was knocked over resulting in a fire and it was said that one man cut his throat so as to avoid being burned alive.

The Val di Stava Dam – Stava, Italy – failed in 1985

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The failing of the Val di Stava Dam was one of the worst disasters that Italy had to face. The dam failed in 1985 and 268 people lost their lives, along with 63 buildings being destroyed and 8 bridges. The cause was said to be due to a pump sagging in the upper dam and drainage being less effective.

The Hyatt Regency – Kansas City, MO – failed in 1981

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In 1981 114 people lost their lives along with 216 people suffering injury after two walkways that had been suspended from the ceiling in the hotel fell down into the lobby below. It seems that a design change, which was only subtle, was made when construction was taking place and this doubled the amount of load on the fourth floor walkway, which meant that the path was unstable even without there being anybody on it. When people were added into the factor, the walkway collapsed onto the second floor one.

Banqiao Reservoir Dam – Henan Province, China – failed in 1975

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The dam was constructed in 1952 and it was said to be unbreakable. However this was despite of all the warnings about poor construction along with there not being enough water regulating gates. It was said that these things were one of the causes of the dam collapsing. Following what was the equivalent of one years’ worth of rain there was a message sent out to tell the people to open the gates of the dam but it seems that it wasn’t received. The wall gave way and the flood caused a wave that spread 6.2 miles onto the plains at what was said to be about 30mph. Around 26,000 people were said to have lost their lives, while 145,000 more died in epidemics and famine caused by the floods.

Source: http://interestingengineering.com/