Reader Response , Draft #1

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In the webpage "Hotel New World Collapse," Kayat (2012) explains the various theories and reasoning behind the collapse of the Hotel New World. There were a few speculations made by the engineers who examined the collapse during the investigations that followed. According to Klimkowski (2005, as cited in Kayat, 2012), a possible act of terrorism, strength of the material used or even the composition of the soil might be some of the reasons behind the hotel's fall. However, these assumptions were eliminated as the engineers evaluated all of these areas and were able to prove that another reason was responsible. Neale (2001, as cited from Kayat, 2012) mentioned that the collapse was due to 'under-designed columns and foundations' as the building's original engineers excluded the building's weight, which was part of the dead load calculation. The same cited author concluded that overloads, lack of proper maintenance and poor engineering contributed to the collapse.


The article mainly explains the speculation and forensic studies following the collapse of the Hotel New World. However, the inadequate information on the causes that led to the fall of the hotel, makes the article fall short in pleasing the readers.
 


Firstly, according to the Report of Inquiry, Thean (1987), ‘RC calculations are sketchy and insufficient, and the R.C. drawings show many discrepancies and ambiguities in the technical details and other information given. ‘For example, the reinforcements of the structural members shown in the RC drawings were significantly lesser than those obtained from the calculations. In my opinion, this led the entire construction of the building to be undesirable. Furthermore, the building was constructed in an unprofessional manner with no proper supervision. The inquiry further states that ‘No soil tests or concrete cube tests were carried out,’ and even if some of these tests were carried out it was probably done without protocol as numerous plies and columns were not positioned accordingly.


Secondly, according to Klimkowski (2005), the additional load brought in by the building owner was not part of the structures original design. However, according to Neale (2001, as cited from Kayat, 2012), he mentioned that the additional load were accounted for under the live load calculations and that it was ‘”trivial to the collapse”. Despite that, in support to Klimkowski (2005), the Report of Inquiry (1987), also states that ‘Substantial loads not provided for in the structural design were added to the building and caused the overloaded and poorly constructed structure to be further loaded’.  Even though for a normal building additional loads would not cause any serious damage, in this case since the hotel was under-designed, it did provoke the disastrous fall of the building.
 


Thirdly, the inquiry also mentioned that the Hotel New World did not undergo any proper maintenance. The building owner did not have proper work done when there were persistent cracks noticed on the columns, walls and floors of the building. The cracks were either disregarded or perfunctory patched up. According to the inquiry ‘No professional advice or assistance was sought by the owners who were probably ignorant of the serious structural deterioration of the building.’ Hence, the cracks within the columns continued to spread. In my opinion, if the building owner has taken proper measures, the structural problems in the building could have been rectified. 


In conclusion, the Hotel New World was a ticking bomb bound to collapse, as there were already issues during the drawings and calculations of the building. Moreover, if a group of individuals with the right competency had supervised the construction from the designing stage, the tragedy of Hotel New World could have been avoided.



Reference

Thean, L.P . 1987. Report of Inquiry on the collapse of Hotel New World. Retrieved from http://eservice.nlb.gov.sg/data2/BookSG/publish/2/2b6b1c5c-8918-433a-a41e-8d2be8451577/web/html5/index.html?opf=tablet/BOOKSG.xml&launchlogo=tablet/BOOKSG_BrandingLogo_.png&pn=1

Neale, B. S. (2001). Forensic Engineering: The investigation of failures. P.127-p.130. London: Thomas Telford publishing. This book discusses the causes and effects of certain building failures where progressive collapse is a big topic. Several cases were discussed among them Ronan Point.

National Geographic. (Director). (Singapore Season 2 Episode 9. September 27, 2005). Seconds from disaster: The New World Hotel [Documentary]. Found on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtYKCu9XBDA This is a 48 min exclusive National Geographic documentary about the Collapse of the New World Hotel. They interview experts, witnesses and survivors of the collapse during that tragic day.

Kayat, Raffi A. 2012. The Hotel New World Collapse. Retrieved from https://failures.wikispaces.com/Hotel+New+World+Collapse
 

 

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