Throughout history, man has strived to create the biggest and most impressive
buildings. From the increasingly tall cathedrals found across Europe, the drive
to build higher and higher spread all over the world. This resulted in some of
the most incredible skyscrapers, notably the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the tallest
building in the world.
This passion for architecture, combined with constant changes in how we
perceived art, resulted in architecture that strayed from the traditional brick
and mortar style of building that Europe had become used to. Today, all over the
United States, Europe and indeed the rest of the world, architects come up with
daring and exciting new designs for buildings. While sometimes these new
buildings are entirely functional and visually stunning – let’s not forget the
incredible work by Gaudi in Barcelona, with La Sagrada Familia – oftentimes,
things just go totally wrong.
We have drawn up a list of the biggest 15 architectural blunders that
resulted in buildings being destroyed or permanently changed.
15) Hotel New World, the Lian Yak Building
The Hotel New World was known as the Lian Yak Building, and was an impressive
six-story building that was built in 1971. The building also had a basement, and
the top three floors were owned by one wealthy tenant. The second level also had
a restaurant and a nightclub. Located in Singapore, the building soon became the
focus of international media, when in March 1986, the building fell apart in
less than one minute.
The collapse of the building occurred at 11:25 in the morning, and the quick
collapse meant that very few people were able to make it out of the building
alive. Witnesses claimed that before the collapse occurred, an explosion was
heard. It was, however, later confirmed by the police that the collapse was not
a result of a bomb or terrorist attack.
The collapse resulted in an extensive inquiry, and it was later discovered
that the problem lay in the architect’s design. Whoever had designed the
building had made an error when calculating the structural load of the building.
The dead load of the building, which is the term used to describe the weight of
the building and not its contents, was not taken into account when calculating
the overall load of the building. This meant that over time, the building became
weaker and weaker, resulting in three support columns failing.
14) Basmanny Market
In 2006, the snowy weather resulted in the collapse of the Basmanny Market
building in Moscow. On February 23rd, the shopping center’s building had begun
holding that much snow that it eventually collapsed on top of a vegetable
market. The incident killed more than 56 people, including mostly workers and
traders.
The incident occurred between 5 and 6am before the market had opened, meaning
that the casualties were significantly less than if it had occurred later in the
day. Witnesses explained that they saw glass falling from the ceiling and people
hiding underneath their stalls as the lights went out.
Basmanny District
A further 32 people were injured during the incident, but 500 rescue workers
managed to save a large number of trapped survivors from the rubble.
13) The Silver Bridge
In 1967, in West Virginia, a bridge that was completed in 1928 collapsed. The
Silver Bridge was a suspension bridge that got its name from the aluminum paint
that it was covered in. The bridge connected Gallipolis and Point Pleasant over
the Ohio River.
On the 15th December 1967, the bridge collapsed when rush hour traffic was
traveling over it. The collapse resulted in the deaths of 46 people who were in
vehicles, and two bodies were never found after the collapse. The investigation
into the collapse of the Mason County bridge concluded that the reason why the
bridge collapsed was a failure in one of the eyebars in the suspension chain.
The bridge was carrying significantly heavier loads than what is was initially
designed to withstand back in 1928.
Two years after the collapse, the American Bridge Company bridge was replaced
by the Silver Memorial Bridge.
12) Husky Stadium
The Husky Stadium at the University of Washington was constructed in 1986,
costing nearly $13 million. By the 25th of February, work was nearly complete on
the building. Two of the nine sections of the building had nearly been
completed, and before 9am in the morning, around 40 workers were on site. It
was at around 9am that one worker noticed there was a buckle in a supporting
tube, and at this point, all the workers were ordered to evacuate the building.
It was soon after the building had been evacuated that the whole stadium
buckled, resulting in a tangled mess of metal in place of the near-completed
addition to the university’s sports stadium. It was estimated that the damage
caused by the collapse reached up to $1 million in costs. Despite the collapse,
the addition to the university stadium was started again, and completed in time
for the first home game of the football season on September 5th in 1987. The
stadium remains in good condition and in regular use to this day!
11) Skyline Towers
The Skyline Towers were part of the Skyline Plaza, and when designed, were
going to be one of the biggest complexes in Virginia in the 1970s. The
construction of this new plaza began in the early years of the 1970s, on the
site that later became the Washington-Virginia Airport. Should the Skyline
Towers and Plaza have been completed, they would have had more than 468
apartments within them.
It was planned that the building would open in August of 1973, and prior to
this, every single one of the apartments had been sold.
Witness accounts explain that the workers inside the building had very little
time between knowing there was a problem and getting out of the building. One
witness, Larry Rivers, says that while working in the basement of the building,
he had about two seconds warning to get out. Rivers saw his fellow work mates
being crushed by concrete.
The cause of the collapse was investigated by a professor from the University
of Illinois, Professor Ingvar Schoushoe. The professor concluded that the
collapse happened because a shoring from the floors that had only recently been
poured had been removed too quickly. It was then later found out that workmen
from the project had noticed that some other workers were trying to rush the
job, removing concrete supports much too quickly. It is estimated that the
damage cost more than $12.5 million.
10) Versailles Wedding Hall
The Versailles Wedding Hall disaster was an event that occurred in Jerusalem,
Israel. The wedding hall was located in Talpiot, and the disaster that occurred
here is the worst civil disaster to ever occur in Israel.
In was on May 34th, 2001 that the wedding of Keren and Asaf Dror was taking
place. During the ceremony, a portion of the third floor of the building simply
collapsed to the floor below. The four-story building’s collapse resulted in 23
people falling to their death through two stories of the building. Among the
victims were an 80-year-old man, and a three-year-old toddler. As well as the
deaths, 380 people were injured by the disaster. The bride and groom
miraculously escaped.
The event became particularly notorious not only because it was one of the
worst events to happen in the country’s history, but also because the whole
event was capture on a video camera. The video was later broadcast on national
and international television.
9) Pittwater High School
Pittwater High School is a school found in New South Wales, Australia. The
educational institution is operated by the New South Wales Department of
Education and Training, and has an extensive history. Established in 1963, the
school took the name Pittwater from the natural body of water that is found near
Broken Bay. It was this body of water that was explored by HMS Sirius, and was
later named after William Pitt the Younger, an early Prime Minister of Great
Britain.
Binishell
The school’s history largely surrounds sporting achievements as it has
produced a number of Olympians, however, in late 1986, the school experience an
architectural problem. The school had a modern and radical design known as a
freestanding binishell. It was this binishell that collapsed, meaning that its
school hall was totally destroyed. The students had only left the hall moments
ago meaning that no students were killed or hurt, however, the collapse of the
structure meant that a janitor was seriously injured. There were numerous other
schools across Australia that had similar structures that were soon closed as a
precautionary procedure.
8) Tacoma Narrows Bridge
The Tacoma Narrows Bridge was the very first suspension bridge in Washington
state. The bridge opened officially on the 1stJuly, 1940, and just a few months
later, the bridge became famous for its dramatic crash into the water below. The
bridge, before its collapse, was the third longest suspension bridge in
existence.
The collapse occurred at 11am on November 7th, the same year that it had been
finished. The incident was a result of high wind speeds, and the effects of an
aero elastic flutter. This is a vibration whereby quick and periodic motion is
achieved. This effect occurs when there is a strong fluid or airflow, and with
the constant battering and repetitive movements of the wind against the bridge,
it began to swing back and forth. The backwards and forwards motion ultimately
meant that the bridge buckled and collapsed.
7) Vdara Hotel & Spa
The Vdara Hotel and Spa in Las Vegas is no longer only known for its
luxurious amenities and services, but also for its extra feature – a death ray!
Dubbed the term by the media, the death ray incident occurred as a result of the
reflection of the concave, glass building.
The Vdara building focuses light, unintentionally, from the sun right into
the pool deck during the day. It was in 2009 that this issue began causing
problems. Numerous witnesses have described the pain of being subject to these
light rays as like having a chemical burn. Within 30 seconds, skin can quickly
begin to fry.
The hotel management explained that it is difficult to solve the problem, as
it would require a total overhaul to the design of the building, which is why a
form of shield has been suggested. However, to create permanent shade on a pool
area would cause problems for guests who want to be able to enjoy the sun. A
film has since been applied to the windows of the building, but the sun is still
being reflected as badly as before.
6) John Hancock Tower
The John Hancock Tower in Boston, Massachusetts was completed in 1976, and
later dubbed ‘The Hancock’. The tower is 60-stories high and was initially
designed by Henry N. Cobb, a designer and architecture from I. M. Pei and
Partners. Today, the tower is still the tallest building in all of New England,
and the tallest building in Boston for over three decades.
Despite being an impressive feat of engineering for the era, the building has
a number of design and architectural flaws that quickly became evident after
completion.
The first major problem involved warping walls. It was when the builders were
creating the foundation for the tower that they used a number of temporary steel
walls to surround the area where they would build. These metal walls began
warping due to the heavy mud and clay surrounding them. This bend in the world
affected the nearby pavement, damaged a number of utility lines and even
affected the Trinity Church across the street.
There were also issues with the glass used in the building. The blue glass
windowpanes fell away from the building and fell hundreds of feet to the ground.
The area of closed off by the police when winds reached more than 45 miles per
hour, as the issue could not be solved. After a scale model was made and tested
using a wind tunnel, the problem still could not be solved. Eventually, it
became apparent that thermal stress was forcing the windows to fall from the
building due to constant expanding and contraction.
Finally, the building was given a $5 million renovation, adding steel bracing
to the tower to ensure that it would not collapse in the event of strong winds.
5) Nazi Navy Barracks
An architectural blunder isn’t always related to a collapse or an adverse
affect of glass. In fact, architectural blunders occur because of the poor
design in the first place, and the perfect example is the Naval Amphibious base
found in Coronado, California. This base was built back in the 1960s and was
home to young sailors. There are four buildings, all L-shaped, and they center
around a hub where people meet. It was only back in 2007 when Google Earth
appeared that the local residents realized the 1960s architecture was actually a
swastika.
Google Earth Image
The architect behind the design, John Mock, defended himself by explaining
the design was not intentional. In fact, Mock even won an award for the design,
but later, the Navy apologized and promised that they would spend up to $600,000
renovating and landscaping the building so that it appeared less like a swastika
from above.
4) The Aon Center
The Aon Center is an iconic tower found in Chicago. The tower was designed by
Edward Durell Stone and The Oerkin and Will partnership. The building was
eventually completed in 1973 and soon become known as the Standard Oil Building.
The new piece of architecture was known for its resistance to earthquakes, its
ability to avoid swaying and how it could minimize the amount of column bending
that occurred.
All was not perfect, however! The building had a huge problem in that it was
covered in marble. At the time, the idea didn’t seem all that far-fetched, and
more than 43,000 pieces of Italian marble were placed on the building. The
marble was thin and designed specifically to be used on the building, but
despite this, things soon went wrong. It was in 1974, just a year after being
completed, that marble began falling off the building and crashing into the roof
of a surrounding building. An inspection then found a number of cracks and
bending in the marble around the building.
As a result, all of the marble on the building had to be removed as a safety
precaution, costing more than $80 million. Today, the building remains erect and
is covered with white granite.
3) The Lotus Riverside
The Lotus Riverside incident in China saw a huge block of flats collapse to
the ground. The block of flats was found in the outskirts of Shandhai, and as it
collapsed, it moved sideways and was found lay horizontally.
The construction had not been completed on the building, meaning that nobody
was living in the block of flats when the incident occurred. There were a number
of identical blocks of flats in the surrounding area, yet all of those remained
standing.
It was reported by the Xinhua News Agency that a worker had gone into the
block to take his tools, and when he attempted to jump out of the window, the
building fell on its side. The Lotus Riverside community can be found in the
Minxing district, and this is not the first instance of poor quality building in
China. In fact, bad workmanship is a huge concern in the building sector in
China, as the country starts rolling out the largest expansion it has ever seen
in its cities and in the outskirts of its cities. In order to keep its position
as one of the strongest economies in the world, it must grow, and incidents like
this are increasingly common.
2) Leaning Tower of Pisa
The Leaning Tower of Pisa is perhaps one of the most famous architectural
blunders. The tower is a freestanding bell tower found in the city of Pisa. The
tower is famous for its tilt to the side that was never intended. Despite the
tilt, the building has remained standing and is now a popular Italian tourists
attraction.
The tower is the third oldest manmade structure in the Cathedral Square.
There has been lots of discussion regarding the identity of the architect for the
tower. For many years, the architecture Bonanno Pisano was given the credit for
designing the building in the 12th century, however, this is now thought to be
untrue. The most recent studies have shown that an architect names Diotisalvi is
in fact responsible for designing the tower, though even this is now in question
as his signature has never been found on the bell tower – something that
Diotisalvi did with all of his work.
The construction of the tower took 199 years overall, with the work on the
very bottom of the tower starting in 1173. Over the coming century, the
construction continued but only intermittently. There was a 100-year gap,
however, when Pisa went to war against Florence and Lucca. When work started
again after this century, there was a small 0.2-degree tilt. In order to
counteract the tilt, the builders had made floors on the south side of the tower
taller. Toda, the tilt has been kept stable through the use of soil in the
foundation. More than 70 tons of soil has been used to maintain the tilt since
2008. It has been calculated that the tower will be stable for another 200
years.
1) Highway 19 Overpass
The very top of our architectural blunders list is the Highway 19 overpass
collapse. The event occurred in Quebec, 2006 on the 30th September. The overpass
had three lanes and the center section of its south lane collapsed on the
Boulevard de la Concorde. When the overpass fell in, it crushed two vehicles
that had been traveling underneath. This resulted in the death of five people
and the injury of six people who fell over the edge of the overpass when it
collapsed.
It has been reported that people living near de la Concorde had reported to
the authorities that they had noticed crumbling. Other residents had noticed
large gaps in the support structure underneath the overpass, and motorists had
even called the police around an hour before the collapse reporting pieces of
concrete falling onto the road below. Authorities were sent out to inspect the
overpass but the roads were not shut. A full inspection was called for, however,
authorities explained that they could not arrange this for at least two days.
This event is one of the many tragedies caused by architectural issues, and
was entirely avoidable. The overpass was thought to be safe to use for 70 years,
and having been built in 1970, it only lasted half of that.
Conclusion
These are just the top 15, in our opinion! There are architectural blunders
happening all the time, ranging from tragic events that result in the death of
those in the building, to buildings that just look silly or are totally useless.
China is a great place to look to find more architectural blunders, with the
country creating replica cities, including a replica Paris that is inhabited by
next to nobody. There’s even a replica Eiffel Tower!
There are also examples across Europe and the United Kingdom, with London now
being home to yet another skyscraper that creates intense heat rays by
reflecting the light from the sun in a concentrated spot. As architects become
more daring, we are going to see even more incidents like this occurring, but
surely as science improves, we will also continue developing ways to ensure that
people remain safe in modern buildings and structures.
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