Towers which collapsed during their construction

Obelixx · August 29th, 2006, 12:08 AM

Which towers collapsed during construction? I know this happened not rarely at building cathedrals in the Middle Ages, but from modern times, I know only a few examples (all guyed masts) as Waltham TV Mast, Waltham-on-the-Wolds, UK ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waltham_TV_Mast ), Zeesen Transmitter, Zeesen, Germany ( http://en.structurae.de/structures/d...fm?ID=s0012624 ) and Hamburg-Billstedt Transmitter ( http://en.structurae.de/structures/d...fm?ID=s0012346 ), but I know no eamples of skyscrapers or modern free-standing towers, which collapsed during construction.

Calvin W · August 29th, 2006, 12:53 AM

There was one in Connecticut in the 1987. It wasn't super tall but I think it was 16 floors.

More info.

It was in Bridgeport, Connecticut. It collapsed on April 23, 1987. A total of 28 workers were killed when they were lifting the concrete floors up using lift jacks.
The building was known as the L'Ambiance Plaza.

mdiederi · August 29th, 2006, 02:26 AM

One of the floors collapsed during the construction of one of the Turnberry towers in Vegas last year.
http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/st...519525699.html

mdiederi · August 29th, 2006, 02:33 AM

In 1994 (or was it 1995?) the Las Vegas Hilton built the world's largest free standing sign, as tall as the hotel, and it fell down in a strong wind.
http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_ho.../25230790.html

m@rco · September 6th, 2006, 03:01 PM

The Cathedral St Pierre of Beauvais (France):

Begun in 1247, the work was interrupted in 1284 by the collapse of some of the vaulting of the choir.
In 1573 the fall of a too-ambitious central tower stopped work again, after which little addition was made...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cath%C3...re_de_Beauvais

With the central tower:

Today:

Maps of the cathedral (only the choir and the transept were built):

Project:

What is was really built:

Harborist · September 6th, 2006, 10:12 PM

I remember seeing TV footage of a guyed mast collapsing back when I was in college in late 1982 or early 1983. The final section of the tower was being hoisted into place when a cable broke and the section being hoisted fell back down onto the base of the mast, causing the whole structure to fall. The most disturbing part of the video was the fact that workers were actually riding on the hoisted section when it broke loose - the sight of the tiny bodies falling through the air was horrific. I don't remember where this happened, but I'll never forget the images.

mdiederi · September 24th, 2006, 07:49 AM

Not exactly a building collapse, but very recent. The entire cableway crane system they are using to construct the new Colorado River Bridge, in front of Hoover Dam, collapsed just one week ago. Nobody was hurt, but the project is now delayed a few more months. The cableway crane system consisted of four 280-foot tall towers, two on each side of a 2,000 foot wide, 900 foot deep canyon, with cables suspended between them to carry workers and ferry loads up to 50-tons across the abyss, all of which is now destroyed.

More info in this thread.
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=363201

-Corey- · September 24th, 2006, 08:00 AM

put pics.. I wanna see some pics..

beyond 1000 · September 25th, 2006, 04:50 AM

Back in 1986 there was a ten storey condo complex going up in a small beach front town of 2500 people called Vrahati in Greece. Vrahati is 100km west of Athens, 14 km west of the Corinth Canal. When an earthquake hit there the building, under construction, collapsed into a pile of rubble. There it remained for about a year until a proper investigation was done.

The end result was that the contractors went cheap on materials to save money. Had this building been completed, the results would have been tragic. As it stood no one was killed or injured. Those involved with the building were fined and lost their building licence. I believe that a few were prosecuted. No building higher than three floors was built there again.

mdiederi · September 27th, 2006, 02:02 AM

Part of the roof of the Charles de Gaulle-Roissy airport in Paris collapsed, killing four, only 11 months after construction was complete.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3746415.stm

mdiederi · September 27th, 2006, 02:11 AM

Vibration from construction underground on Shanghai's metro line caused a building up above to collapse.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/en/doc/...ent_242443.htm

mdiederi · September 27th, 2006, 02:19 AM

A wall collapsed on a construction project in Dubai killing one worker.

http://www.keralamonitor.com/journalistiraq.htm

mdiederi · September 27th, 2006, 02:23 AM

Townhouse in Florida under construction that collapsed.

http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owad...SES&p_id=11196

mdiederi · September 27th, 2006, 02:29 AM

Here's one that happened in Barcelona.

http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news...cle_5595.shtml

http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news...cle_5604.shtml

m@rco · October 3rd, 2006, 03:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mdiederi

Part of the roof of the Charles de Gaulle-Roissy airport in Paris collapsed, killing four, only 11 months after construction was complete.

Vibration from construction underground on Shanghai's metro line caused a building up above to collapse.

...

I'm sorry but I don't see the towers ... where are they ?

glenpark · December 15th, 2012, 07:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Calvin W

There was one in Connecticut in the 1987. It wasn't super tall but I think it was 16 floors.

More info.

It was in Bridgeport, Connecticut. It collapsed on April 23, 1987. A total of 28 workers were killed when they were lifting the concrete floors up using lift jacks.
The building was known as the L'Ambiance Plaza.

Today's tragedy (14 Dec 2012) in Connecticut calls to mind this nightmare 25+ years ago --the slideshow contains excellent portrayals of the Lift -slab technique -in this case the contractor was responsible for almost all design calculations, and made some critical mistakes.

http://www.ctpost.com/local/article/...#photo-2812280

ThatOneGuy · December 15th, 2012, 05:01 PM

Many structures with engineering flaws collapse only a year or two after being built.
Luckily, there are very few buildings that have such problems, but they can still occur, like at the Charles de Gaulle.

August 29th, 2006, 12:08 AM	#1
Obelixx Registered User Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 1,583 Likes (Received): 10	Towers which collapsed during their construction Which towers collapsed during construction? I know this happened not rarely at building cathedrals in the Middle Ages, but from modern times, I know only a few examples (all guyed masts) as Waltham TV Mast, Waltham-on-the-Wolds, UK ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waltham_TV_Mast ), Zeesen Transmitter, Zeesen, Germany ( http://en.structurae.de/structures/d...fm?ID=s0012624 ) and Hamburg-Billstedt Transmitter ( http://en.structurae.de/structures/d...fm?ID=s0012346 ), but I know no eamples of skyscrapers or modern free-standing towers, which collapsed during construction.

August 29th, 2006, 12:53 AM	#2
Calvin W Canadian eh! Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Where am I? Prove it! Posts: 2,042 Likes (Received): 8	There was one in Connecticut in the 1987. It wasn't super tall but I think it was 16 floors. More info. It was in Bridgeport, Connecticut. It collapsed on April 23, 1987. A total of 28 workers were killed when they were lifting the concrete floors up using lift jacks. The building was known as the L'Ambiance Plaza. Last edited by Calvin W; August 29th, 2006 at 12:57 AM. Reason: more info

September 24th, 2006, 08:00 AM	#8
-Corey- Je suis tout à vous Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Miami, FL Posts: 14,986 Likes (Received): 705	put pics.. I wanna see some pics.. __________________ ๏̯͡๏♥๏̯͡๏

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August 29th, 2006, 02:26 AM	#3
mdiederi Artist Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Downtown Posts: 1,025 Likes (Received): 0	One of the floors collapsed during the construction of one of the Turnberry towers in Vegas last year. http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/st...519525699.html

August 29th, 2006, 02:33 AM	#4
mdiederi Artist Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Downtown Posts: 1,025 Likes (Received): 0	In 1994 (or was it 1995?) the Las Vegas Hilton built the world's largest free standing sign, as tall as the hotel, and it fell down in a strong wind. http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_ho.../25230790.html

September 6th, 2006, 03:01 PM	#5
m@rco Registered User Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Grenoble, FRA Posts: 1,277 Likes (Received): 0	The Cathedral St Pierre of Beauvais (France): Begun in 1247, the work was interrupted in 1284 by the collapse of some of the vaulting of the choir. In 1573 the fall of a too-ambitious central tower stopped work again, after which little addition was made... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cath%C3...re_de_Beauvais With the central tower: Today: Maps of the cathedral (only the choir and the transept were built): Project: What is was really built:

September 6th, 2006, 10:12 PM	#6
Harborist Registered User Join Date: May 2006 Location: Bellingham Posts: 38 Likes (Received): 0	I remember seeing TV footage of a guyed mast collapsing back when I was in college in late 1982 or early 1983. The final section of the tower was being hoisted into place when a cable broke and the section being hoisted fell back down onto the base of the mast, causing the whole structure to fall. The most disturbing part of the video was the fact that workers were actually riding on the hoisted section when it broke loose - the sight of the tiny bodies falling through the air was horrific. I don't remember where this happened, but I'll never forget the images.

September 24th, 2006, 07:49 AM	#7
mdiederi Artist Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Downtown Posts: 1,025 Likes (Received): 0	Not exactly a building collapse, but very recent. The entire cableway crane system they are using to construct the new Colorado River Bridge, in front of Hoover Dam, collapsed just one week ago. Nobody was hurt, but the project is now delayed a few more months. The cableway crane system consisted of four 280-foot tall towers, two on each side of a 2,000 foot wide, 900 foot deep canyon, with cables suspended between them to carry workers and ferry loads up to 50-tons across the abyss, all of which is now destroyed. More info in this thread. http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=363201

September 25th, 2006, 04:50 AM	#9
beyond 1000 BANNED Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Vancouver Posts: 360 Likes (Received): 0	Back in 1986 there was a ten storey condo complex going up in a small beach front town of 2500 people called Vrahati in Greece. Vrahati is 100km west of Athens, 14 km west of the Corinth Canal. When an earthquake hit there the building, under construction, collapsed into a pile of rubble. There it remained for about a year until a proper investigation was done. The end result was that the contractors went cheap on materials to save money. Had this building been completed, the results would have been tragic. As it stood no one was killed or injured. Those involved with the building were fined and lost their building licence. I believe that a few were prosecuted. No building higher than three floors was built there again.

September 27th, 2006, 02:02 AM	#10
mdiederi Artist Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Downtown Posts: 1,025 Likes (Received): 0	Part of the roof of the Charles de Gaulle-Roissy airport in Paris collapsed, killing four, only 11 months after construction was complete. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3746415.stm

September 27th, 2006, 02:11 AM	#11
mdiederi Artist Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Downtown Posts: 1,025 Likes (Received): 0	Vibration from construction underground on Shanghai's metro line caused a building up above to collapse. http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/en/doc/...ent_242443.htm

September 27th, 2006, 02:19 AM	#12
mdiederi Artist Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Downtown Posts: 1,025 Likes (Received): 0	A wall collapsed on a construction project in Dubai killing one worker. http://www.keralamonitor.com/journalistiraq.htm

September 27th, 2006, 02:23 AM	#13
mdiederi Artist Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Downtown Posts: 1,025 Likes (Received): 0	Townhouse in Florida under construction that collapsed. http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owad...SES&p_id=11196

September 27th, 2006, 02:29 AM	#14
mdiederi Artist Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Downtown Posts: 1,025 Likes (Received): 0	Here's one that happened in Barcelona. http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news...cle_5595.shtml http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news...cle_5604.shtml

December 15th, 2012, 05:01 PM	#17
ThatOneGuy NOT BANNNED Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Constanța Posts: 7,120 Likes (Received): 807	Many structures with engineering flaws collapse only a year or two after being built. Luckily, there are very few buildings that have such problems, but they can still occur, like at the Charles de Gaulle.