In architecture, as in surgery, everything must be precise. After all, a person's life depends on how well the work is done. Our list contains 12 mistakes of architects and builders that turned into a disaster and from which people died.
1. Sampoong Shopping Center, Seoul, South Korea, 1995
Sampoong, the largest mall in South Korea, collapsed in 1995. The reason was the grossest violations that the architects allowed. As a result, 502 dead and 937 injured.
2. Bridge over the Tuo River - Fenghuang, China, 2007
In China, in the province of Hanan, in 2007, construction work on a 268-meter bridge was completed. But immediately after their completion, disaster struck. The bridge over the Tuo River collapsed while the scaffolding was being demolished. The result - 30 dead, 60 wounded and more than 10 missing.
3. Seongsu Tegyo Bridge, Seoul, South Korea, 1994
In South Korea, shortly after the completion of repairs on the Songsu Tegyo Bridge, an accident occurred. Part of it fell off, causing cars and buses that were passing over the bridge at the time to fall from a height of 20 meters. This disaster took the lives of 32 people, many of them were children.
4. Highway 19 Overpass, Laval, Quebec, 2006
In 2006, in Quebec, on Highway 19 Overpass, a part of the road surface 20 meters long collapsed. As a result of this accident, 5 people died and 6 were injured.
5. Camper Arena, Kansas City, Missouri, 1979
In 1979, the roof of the Kemper Arena in Missouri collapsed. Fortunately, no one was hurt in this accident.
6. I-35W Bridge, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 2007
The design of this bridge was long outdated, but no one attached any importance to this, until in 2007, at rush hour, part of the bridge collapsed. The cars that were on the bridge ended up in the water. Then 13 people died, 145 were injured.
7. Big Boston Tunnel, Boston, 2006
A ceiling weighing 25 tons collapsed in this tunnel while cars were moving. One person died.
8. Pier One playground, Brooklyn, New York, 2010
It is not known who was the architect of this playground, but he clearly miscalculated with its materials, since in the summer in the 50-degree heat, most of the steel structures were very hot, making the playground unsuitable for children's games.
9. Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles, 2005
The facade of this incredibly luxurious Concert Hall in Los Angeles had to be urgently changed, because its architect did not take into account one important detail. The metal was a strong reflector of the sun's rays, as a result of which people living nearby suffered from high temperatures.
10. Ville Marie Tunnel, Montreal, Canada, 2011
A special concrete structure was installed in this tunnel, which helped drivers to adapt to the darkness. But in 2011, a concrete slab of this design collapsed on the road. Fortunately, there were no casualties.
11. Hyatt Regency Hotel, Kansas City, Missouri, 1981
This incident happened in July 1981, when 2 hanging galleries collapsed in the hotel. Then 114 people died and 216 were injured.
12. Banqiao Dam, Henan Province, People's Republic of China, 1975
In 1952, a dam called Bayanzo was built, which was intended to protect against floods. But during its construction, architects and builders made unacceptable mistakes. Tropical Typhoon Nina demolished the dam in 1975. The result is very deplorable. This disaster claimed the lives of 26 thousand people.
The most common mistakes when designing a house + photo
Foreword:
The format of our article certainly does not imply in-depth study design errors, but we, based on our experience, will try to briefly and concisely identify the main mistakes that repeat from year to year!
“What does it cost us to build a house, draw, we will live!”
Of course, we do not literally understand this phrase, and there are hardly any people in this hall who believe that they can live in a painted house. But at the same time, this expression is quite vital, because first you need to draw a house, and then build it in real size. This painted house can be called the first step to the project.
Now about the sad thing - some adults, having drawn the house of their dreams, are limited to this, naming the drawing with the proud word "Project" and giving it to the builders to work.
The next category of citizens, more advanced, along with the drawing of the external view, painstakingly draw the interior space in order to determine future usable areas. And at the end of the torment, a revelation comes to them that the entrance hall will be as much as 10 meters, the toilet 5, and the bedroom 20. Then they will write the cherished numbers in the center of these rooms in beautiful handwriting and, like the first category, they will hand over the “PROJECT” with a businesslike look builders to work.
And you say no one lives in a painted house!
But today's conversation will concern those people who understand that a project is an important and rather complex document that must be treated with all seriousness and a masterly approach. These responsible people were not afraid of the word “project”, they found out what sections and subsections it should contain and decided that they needed a full-fledged project at home. We support them because these are people who strive to get exactly the result that they planned.
Today's topic is for these people, we will analyze the most common design errors country house.
Mistake 1- A project from a friend of one friend
Of course, each of us in the environment has a friend who has a friend who made a good project for one friend. As a result, we find this friend, who was recommended by a friend, and he really does projects (but they didn’t tell you that only in electrics, and extra work won’t hurt him), and since a loyal client has already contacted him with a recommendation (this You), after a little thought, he takes on the project of the whole house (and he will learn for one thing). Loyalty from recommendations - blinds your eyes, and you resignedly go to the cliff on the lead of amateurs. This story repeats itself over and over again with different variables, but the result is always the same - loss of money, time and a lot of nerves. I do not deny that there are exceptions. We're moving on.
Error 2 - project from the Internet
There is another storehouse of projects - this is the Internet!
This is where the fantasy of a future homeowner can play out. The wonders of material savings, the wonders of project timing, the wonders of ergonomic design, and the wonders of Feng Shui. But this is not the worst thing, especially creative people take decisive steps and take the foundation from one project, the walls from the second, the roof from the third, and all this is completed by the internal layout from the fourth. Of course, it’s worth mentioning that there are worthy and even unique projects on the Internet, but without extensive knowledge in this area and experience - choose at least a normal one, we’re not even talking about an ideal project for you - this is a real lottery, sometimes at stake is the cost of an entire house .
Our advice for this situation:
Of course, you can apply for the development of a project both to a company and to an individual. The main thing is that YOU deal with real and specific people whom you will know personally and with whom you can meet on work issues at least every day. It is extremely important that those who are likely to carry out the project for you have houses built according to previously completed projects. It is best if there is an opportunity to communicate with the owners of these houses and with the builders. Because all the shortcomings of the project "emerge" at the stage of construction and further operation. It must be remembered that no matter who you work with, you must do it under an agreement with clearly defined conditions for volumes, terms and guarantees, support and responsibility.
Mistake 3 - the project is not based on reality.
Not infrequently, we hear complaints from designers that clients come and say with a straight face, “we need a project for a house located on 50 acres in the lower left corner with an area of approximately 550 meters with three balconies and all of this is made of brick.” They are not going to provide additional data and the conversation ends there.
Here, most often, we observe such an option when people obviously consider themselves experts in suburban construction, and they were just too lazy to draw the project themselves, then they will then fit it into the landscape.
But questions on linking the project to the area are asked not for the sake of idle interest, but for the qualitative implementation of a set of design works. A good designer is interested in many issues at the location of the object, ranging from topography, wind and snow loads, soil characteristics and ending with legal issues at the location of the site.
The same question applies to the rapidly gaining momentum of the work of freelancers. For little money and in a short time, you will draw any project. But the question of tying it to the terrain and responsibility for the "curvature" take over.
What is fraught with the separation of the project from reality?
As the saying goes, "it was on paper, but they forgot about the ravines." There can be many surprises (we want to note only unpleasant ones), for example, the whole house will be designed not for your latitude, the foundation specified in the project is not suitable for your type of soil, etc.
Our advice in this situation: Provide all the necessary information requested for design work, and of course you should be alerted if the designers are not interested in the site for future construction.
Mistake 4 - make it beautiful!
Beauty and luxury are relative concepts, which is why you need to carefully approach these issues. What you consider beautiful may be mediocre for an architect, but not all ideas of an architect will suit you. Not always beautiful - practical and practical - beautiful.
It must be understood that the elements of beauty and luxury usually cost extra money and not only for the material, but also for the work of highly specialized professionals. Exclusive materials have their own delivery times, specialists have their own “busy windows”, and it is not always possible to combine these components. Also, elements of beauty and luxury can become a serious ballast.
in case of problems with your financial flow. And when the above elements are inscribed in the main design features of the house (marble columns, elevators, carved pillars, towers, pools, two-story basements, etc.), they are no longer so easy to refuse without new architectural ideas and solutions that fit into the overall concept. Houses.
Our advice on this situation: As for your standard of beauty and luxury, we recommend showing it to the architect (designer) on specific photo examples or existing architectural solutions, and not in words, and even more so not “on the fingers”, and then you will definitely come to a common understanding. Further, it will not be superfluous to provide for the possibility of replacing exclusive elements with standard solutions, and possibly abandoning them. Interchangeability and versatility never hurt.
Mistake 5 - Concessions in the convenience of life
Did you know that convenience for everyone is a great rarity?
The convenience of the project is one thing for an architect, another for builders, and a third for you. For example, an Architect may have several blanks (blocks), which he, as in a constructor, uses in various ways. But this does not mean at all that such solutions will suit you. Builders have several alternative options for installation work, but this does not mean that they must agree to them without good reason.
When the customer makes concessions on all sides, he usually remains in the red himself. As a result of such concessions, we see the ridiculous geometry of the premises, uncomfortable lighting, outdated and incompatible materials. And as a result, it may look like a beautiful, but inconvenient house for living.
Our advice in this situation: Think about how any architectural or installation decisions will affect you, do not compromise with people whom you may not even remember in a year. If the proposal of the architect or builders to change the "contractual, pre-design and design" agreements do not have clear, reasonable arguments or do not have proposals for a better alternative - do not agree to them. And remember that sometimes the deterioration of one is served under the sauce of the improvement of the other.
Error 6 - materials used
Of course, until it comes to construction, you have not thought about materials and their cost yet, but in vain!
And so you were given a finished project, you invited representatives of a construction company to discuss the timing of installation work and the supply of materials. And then it turns out that the materials that are indicated in the project have not been produced for a long time, and the characteristics of the analogues are completely different and for their application it is necessary to recalculate a large part of the project - they have arrived. It is also not uncommon when the materials specified in the project have a long delivery time (from six months or more), or builders refuse to work with this material, for example, with glass wool and other abrasive or hazardous materials. There are even cases when the project contains materials that are unknown to anyone, or materials that are used only in far abroad countries. And here, as such, there is no designer error, you did not focus on the available materials.
The multiplicity of materials is not a beautiful phrase, but a literal benefit. It hurts to watch when only 1/5 of the whole sheet is used in the last row of flooring (floor, roof, walls, etc.), and the rest is thrown away. When it causes so much fuss to builders that the price tag for their work will be incredibly large.
And be sure that if they did not include these difficulties in the cost of work at the conclusion of the contract, then they will definitely “recoup” in the future.
The picture is also sad, when there are so many materials by variety and variety that, as the Russian proverb says, "the devil himself will break his leg." As a result, we have the following difficulties: ordering in small batches is always more expensive than large ones, warehousing, accounting, phasing and logistics at the facility becomes a complex and painstaking work.
Our advice in this situation: Check that modern materials are used in the project, ask the construction base for their cost and quantity in stock, delivery time. The multiplicity of materials is, of course, on the conscience of the designer, but you can hint to him that this is an important point that will definitely come up at the construction stage. Do not strive for a hodgepodge of materials; generalize each similar material if possible.
We picked up a finished project - is it just space for you!?
Do not rush to rejoice - there are a lot of building technologies and solutions, blunders imperceptible on paper - will "ring the ruble" and "an eyesore". You should not think of yourself as a great know-it-all, but an architect an angel. There are still specially trained people with extensive experience in the world (although the project itself can cost them a lot of money, but it’s enough for a consultation), who will look from the height of experience and regulatory documents and where they need to be corrected, or even thrown the project into the trash. BUT believe me, a project is better than a whole house! And remember - It's better to lose a day, but then fly in five minutes.
Our advice in this situation Conduct an examination of the project in an independent and reputable organization (or a private individual), let a third party look, perhaps new opportunities for comfort and savings will be found, and annoying errors corrected. Architects are people too and they make mistakes too, investing money here will definitely pay off. (unless, of course, professionals look). Of course, you think that there are guarantees for all work, and if anything, then everyone will come running and immediately start correcting mistakes, but practice says the opposite.
Mistake 8 - Design and construction start together.
A hit of all times and peoples: the question - “Will we move in by the New Year?”
The most common plan is to celebrate the New Year in your home. And it doesn't matter that it's already October. The builders said - let's do it!
But as the Russian folk saying goes, “If you take nine women, then the child will still not be born in a month.” Construction technologies require a certain time frame, the order of work and even seasonality. As a rule, in a hurry, construction starts along with the design, and even earlier, as a result, confusion and discrepancy between what was designed and done in fact is inevitable.
You need to understand the consequences of your run “forward the locomotive”, a flooded foundation cannot be moved “one or two”, to strengthen it when the walls are already in place is hard, you cannot stuff materials “anyhow” into the project. Every change costs money. In general, you need to decide who is more important in this case - you and the builders or the project. If you are, then don't spend money on a project - after the end of "building by inspiration" - an ordinary student will be able to sketch a project after the work has been completed. It is also worth remembering that the rush of builders often affects quality.
Our advice on this situation: first the project, then the work.
Error 9 - everything is written in the project, so the builders will do everything right.
To begin with, an anecdote: Builders hand over the object, approach the construction site with the Customer and look into a huge well, at the bottom of which a searchlight is brightly lit. The builders say that this is the first time they see such stupidity - according to the project, it was necessary to make a well with a light bulb, but since it is written in the project, they did it. The customer looks at the project, then turns it over and says - “actually, it was supposed to be a lighthouse”
It is not true to think that a project is a document that contains absolutely all the information about building a house. Construction guides and regulations are countless.
And, for example, the connection can be made in various ways using various fasteners. But which one is appropriate in your case, and which one is not applicable at all, only a specialist with specialized education and experience can answer.
An architect is an artist and an engineer rolled into one. He not only comes up with the idea of the project, but collects all the information necessary for the construction. He needs to analyze geodetic conditions, calculate the parameters of stability, reliability and safety. At the same time, all regulations must be taken into account. Therefore, one small mistake of an architect can be fatal.
"Plywood house" in 60 floors
The John Hancock Tower is the tallest building in Boston (USA). Its height is 241 meters or 60 floors.
The opening was scheduled for 1971. But the mistakes of architects and builders made their own adjustments. Firstly, the building could not resist strong gusts of wind - the skyscraper staggered a lot. Moreover, the people inside were "sick." Secondly, the townspeople were afraid for their lives and bypassed the house, because windows flew out of the skyscraper! The problem was within the double glazing. They were unsuitable for the large windows of the John Hancock Tower. Therefore, it was decided to temporarily "sew" the skyscraper into plywood and replace all 10,000 windows. The infamous skyscraper opened in 1976.
Wooden amphitheater in Fideni
In the ancient city of Fidena, not far from Rome, a wooden amphitheater was built. In 27 AD many people came to the gladiator fights and the building collapsed. 20 thousand people died. This case served as a lesson for architects. Since then, in the preparation of projects, the weight that the object can withstand is calculated.
Tacoma Bridge in Washington State
The most dramatic mistake in the history of bridge building was made by the architects in the construction of the Tacoma Suspension Bridge in Washington State, USA.
The traffic on the bridge was launched on July 1, 1940. Literally immediately, the building was nicknamed "Galloping Gertie", as the road swayed strongly in windy weather. On November 7, 1940, at 11:00 a.m., with a wind speed of about 65 km / h, the bridge collapsed. By pure chance, no one was hurt.
The reason for the destruction is the underestimation of wind loads in the design of the structure. Since then, approaches to the design of large-span bridges in the world have been completely changed. The bridge has been restored.
Lotus Riverside in Shanghai
In 2009, the Lotus Riverside residential complex in Shanghai (China) consisted of eleven 13-storey buildings. Digging out an underground garage under one of them resulted in the house "falling over" on its side like a children's toy. The reason is a poor quality foundation.
The magnifying glass hotel in Las Vegas
Spa Hotel Vdara opened in Las Vegas (USA) in 2009. Its unique curved design helps to collect the sun's rays and reflect them towards the hotel's swimming pool. This often resulted in poolside temperatures rising, causing people to get sunburned and objects to melt. Now the hotel is renovated.
Steel playground in Brooklyn
The designers miscalculated when they decided to make the Pier One playground in Brooklyn (USA). They focused on futuristic design and forgot to think about materials. Almost all structures were made of steel, which heated up to 50 degrees in the sun.
Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles
The Walt Disney Concert Hall is a landmark in Los Angeles (USA). As conceived by the famous architect, the outer walls of the building were sheathed with steel panels. And it was a bad move. The metal reflected the sun's rays, and the residents of neighboring houses suffered from high temperatures in the apartments. Moreover, the sidewalk was heated up to 60°C. As a result, the builders had to change the facade several times.
Information service of the Stroykompleks portal
Architecture is a branch, perhaps no less precise than surgery. In any case, not only comfort, but also human life directly depends on the quality work of architects and builders. Our review collected 15 facts when architectural mistakes cost people their lives.
1. Highway 19 Overpass, Laval, Quebec, 2006
2. Residential building Ronan Point, London, 1968
3. Pier One Playground, Brooklyn, New York, 2010
4. Camper Arena, Kansas City, Missouri, 1979
5. Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles, 2005
6. I-35W-Bridge, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 2007
7. Seongsu Tegyo Bridge, Seoul, South Korea, 1994
8. Sampoong Shopping Center, Seoul, South Korea, 1995
9. Big Boston Tunnel, Boston, 2006
10. Bridge over the Tuo River - Fenghuang, China, 2007
11. Tunnel Ville Marie, Montreal, Canada, 2011
12. Val di Stave, Italy, 1985
Banqiao is an earthen dam built in 1952 to protect against floods. During the construction of the dam, gross mistakes were made and it became covered with cracks, and later it could not withstand the pressure of tropical typhoon Nina. The flooding killed 26,000 people.
But sometimes architects present pleasant surprises. For example, such as . This must be seen at least in the photo.
One example of the triumph of modern design over engineering mind and unconscious harm to human health is London's Millennium Bridge. Architects Monberg and Thorsen paid so much attention to the appearance of the bridge that they completely forgot to calculate whether the structure could withstand a large crowd of people.
The new Thames crossing naturally attracted the attention of the townspeople: the opening ceremony, held on 10 June 2000, was attended by about 100,000 people. All of them walked that day along the Millennium (at the same time the bridge can accommodate up to 2000 people), while many felt weak, nauseous and dizzy, and some could not even stand on their feet.
It turned out that the simultaneous presence of a large number of people on the bridge leads to a rare resonant phenomenon, due to which the bridge sways. As a matter of urgency, the Millennium was closed for renovation.
The re-opening of the bridge, in the design of which dampers (devices to prevent vibrations) were added, took place only on February 22, 2002. In honor of the initial failure of the architects, the bridge was given the nickname "Wobbly" (Wobbly).
Tacoma Narrows
60 years before the opening of the Millennium, the installation of dampers was already trying to solve the problem of another bridge - Tacoma-Narrows in Washington. Even during construction, workers nicknamed the bridge "Galloping Gertie": on windy days, the amplitude of its swing was 1.5 meters. The reason for this was the arrogance of the chief architect, Leon Moiseeff. Based on his own "deflection theory", he suggested that a suspension bridge 11.9 m wide with a span of 854 m would not sway in the wind.
The state authorities relied on the experience of the man who took part in the creation of the Manhattan Bridge and the famous Golden Gate, and completely entrusted him with the $8 million project.
Despite an attempt to rectify the situation and reconstruct the bridge, on November 7, 1940, the central opening of the Tacoma-Narrows could not withstand wind gusts reaching 65 km / h and collapsed into the river. Luckily, there was only one car on it at the time. His driver managed to leave the bridge in time, in a panic, forgetting his dog in the back seat, which became the only victim of the disaster.
Concert Hall. Walt Disney
Another well-known architect who has failed is Canadian Frank Gehry (he is so popular that he became the first representative of his profession to appear on The Simpsons). In 1999, the master took on the project of the Walt Disney Concert Hall. Four years and $50 million later, a building appeared in Los Angeles whose futuristic facades, lined with stainless steel plates, captured the imagination of residents and visitors of the city.
Only the inhabitants of nearby houses were dissatisfied: the facades worked on the principle of a parabolic mirror, concentrating and reflecting the sun's rays and turning the apartment into a real sauna (periodically the temperature in them rose to 60 degrees Celsius). After several incidents of thermal shock, the panels on the facades of the concert hall were sanded to reduce reflectivity.
However, architects continue to step on the rake tested by Gehry. Built in 2009 in Las Vegas, the Vdara Spa hotel reflected the rays straight into the pool area, causing sunburn among guests. And the London skyscraper Walkie Talkie in 2013 melted down several cars parked on Fancharch Street.
Lian Yak
However, history knows examples of architectural errors that led to much more serious consequences than heat stroke and the death of pets.
One of the biggest tragedies in Singapore's history occurred on March 15, 1986. The Lian Yak Building, which housed a branch of the Industrial and Commercial Bank and the New World Hotel, collapsed, burying more than fifty people under the rubble, 33 of them died.
The collapse was caused by incorrect calculations: when designing, no one considered whether the building would withstand itself and its “stuffing”. When the outer walls, according to the idea of architects and designers, were lined with ceramic tiles with a total weight of about 50 tons, additional towers were installed on the roof for air conditioning hotel rooms, and a safe weighing 22 tons was installed in the bank, the Lian Yak Building simply could not withstand its own weight and collapsed into minutes.
"Sampung"
But the most terrible tragedy in its scale turned out to be the behavior of the Seoul businessman Lee Joon. In the wake of the construction boom in South Korea in 1987, Lee Joon purchased a plot of land on the site of a former city dump, intended for the construction of a four-story residential building. Instead, the entrepreneur decided to build a shopping center by persuading (that is, calling a spade a spade, simply by giving a bribe) the chief architect to add another floor to the project.
After some time, Lee realized that without escalators, the movement of customers would be difficult, and insisted on removing the "extra" columns that supported the floors. The architect, who understood what such changes could lead to, refused to do this, for which he was immediately fired. Further design of the shopping center was carried out by Lee Jun himself and his son Lee Han-Sang, who did not have the appropriate education.
At the end of 1989, the largest shopping center in Seoul at that time, called "Sampoong" (Sampoong), was completed. At the time of opening, the building was a five-story structure without ceiling beams, with a large lack of support columns (to increase the internal space, they were also reduced in diameter at the request of Lee) and a large atrium, which also did not exist in the original project. Since 1993, all of the above has been crowned by three 15-ton air conditioners, which were located on the roof.
Despite all the mistakes made in the design and construction, "Sampung" functioned for almost five years, becoming one of the most popular stores in South Korea and passing up to 40,000 customers daily. It all ended on June 29, 1995: the floors eventually broke down and all five floors collapsed in less than half a minute, burying 1,500 people under them (502 people were never saved). The collapse of the Sampung was the largest man-made disaster and remained so until September 11, 2001.
