printDubai builds 52-story buildings on reclaimed land. America’s structural engineers are signing off on inspections of crumbling structures.
I had suggested that this falls under the rubric of “Systemic, Institutional Rot,” in a column on the Big Freeze in Texas, fires in California, colliding trains on land and Navy vessels at sea, and hey, a pedestrian bridge has already collapsed in Florida.
The Sheikh over in Dubai hires top talent that knows how to ensure that the ground can support the structure before proceeding to build upon it. (My thanks to Sean for this interesting juxtaposition.)
“A pancake collapse, such as at the oceanfront condo tower in Surfside, Florida, is a ‘progressive failure’ that often begins at the bottom: A load-bearing element is damaged, usually in a building’s lower floors or foundation, which triggers the top floors to collapse vertically into the floors below, said Necati Catbas, a professor in the Department of Civil, Environmental, and Construction Engineering at the University of Central Florida.” (CNN)
*Image: The Palm Tower location map in Palm Jumeirah (famproperties.com)
I’ve just been reading Erik Larson’s book The Devil in White City, about the famous Chicago World’s Fair of 1893. He describes the problem of building higher in the Windy City at that time, a necessity given the city’s growth and the rising land prices. Set adjacent to Lake Michigan, the problem was no less daunting than in Dubai. The soil was invariably described as gumbo. And yet the need was there, and the talent rose to the occasion to meet the need. The young men who overcame the challenge were driven by the possibility of great reward to pull off what was impossible at the time. Their firm could afford no dead weight, and they couldn’t afford an office of Diversity, Inclusion, & Equity. They enabled the creation of one of the most exciting and prosperous cities on earth. Flash Forward to the Chicago of today, and I’m sure that Burnham & Root wouldn’t even be allowed to get a business license.
Fascinating insights. Thanks.