The collapse of the Space Building occurred on the night of October 12, 2013, when Tower 6 of the Space Building, a residential apartment complex, collapsed in Medellín, Colombia, killing 12 people.[1] Local authorities evacuated the rest of the building to avoid an imminent new collapse.[2] The cost of the building was more than $40.6 billion (2013 COP).
 | |
| Date | October 12, 2013 |
|---|---|
| Time | 8:20 PM (CST) |
| Coordinates | 6°12′47″N 75°33′21″W / 6.21306°N 75.55583°W |
| Type | Structural failure |
| Deaths | 12 |
| Non-fatal injuries | Unknown |
| Property damage | $40.6 billion (2016 COP) |
| Displaced | 100+ |
| Convictions | Loss of license for 4 designers |
On January 20, 2014, researchers from the Faculty of Engineering of the University of the Andes determined that the building should be partially demolished, since the lack of structural capacity of the building's columns did not allow them to support the normal loads to which they were subjected. According to the inquiries that were carried out after the collapse, if the building had been designed with all the requirements of Law 400 of 1997, Tower 6 would not have collapsed.[3]
On February 27, 2014, Tower 5 of the Space Building was demolished but the necessary mechanisms for the complete demolition of the structure were not met.[4][5] On September 23, 2014, what remained of the apartment building was completely demolished after Tower 5 was demolished.[6][7][8] The event caused the housing minister at the time, Luis Felipe Henao, to ratify a law that ceased the construction of buildings that did not rigorously comply with the requirements of Law 400.[9]
Description
editThe Space Building, located at Carrera 24 D # 10 E -120 in the city of Medellín, was built from 2006 until its completion in 2013.[10][11]
The 6 stages (or towers) have different numbers of levels and basements from each other. Stage 6, the last one built, was the highest, with a total of 24 floors and 4 basements. The first stages had 2 and 3 basements.[12][13]
Background
editThe construction of the Space residential complex presented differential settlement problems which were addressed through interventions in the foundation in August 2013. Other structural problems were noted.[12] In the morning hours of October 11, the day before the collapse, the inhabitants of the Space Building contacted the Disaster Risk Management Administrative Department (DAGRD) because a stage 6 column had failed. The entity observed the problems and structural failure of the column, therefore decided to evacuate stage 6 of the Space Building.[14]
Collapse
editThe CDO company decided to send crews of workers to stage 6 to repair the failure that had occurred.[15] While they were working, the entire stage 6 collapsed on October 12, 2013, at 8:20 PM CST. The collapse left a total of 12 people dead.[16][17]
Aftermath
edit
After the collapse of stage 6, the entire building was evacuated. The Mayor's Office of Medellín hired the Universidad de los Andes to carry out the respective investigations to determine the most probable causes of the collapse of the portion of the building corresponding to stage 6,[13] the collapse of stage 6 was mainly related to the lack of structural capacity of the columns of the Space Building. These, according to the study, were not able to withstand the normal loads to which they were subjected.[18] According to the conclusions, if the building had been designed with all the requirements of Law 400 of '97, stage six would not have collapsed.[19][12][20]
On February 27, 2014, Tower 5 of the Space Building was demolished.[4][5] On September 23, 2014, what remained of the apartment building was completely demolished after Tower 5 was demolished.[7][8]
The event caused the housing minister at the time, Luis Felipe Henao, to create the law called Antispace to stop the construction of buildings that did not rigorously comply with the requirements of Law 400 of 1997.[21]
In April 2018, professors Luis Enrique García, Francisco Correal and Luis Eduardo Yamín received the ACI Design Award from the American Concrete Institute for the research results of the collapse of the Space Building.[22][23]
Sanctions
editIn parallel with the controlled demolition of the stages of the Space Building that did not collapse during the initial event in Tower 6, the National Professional Engineering Council (COPNIA) of Colombia carried out an investigation into those responsible for the design, review and construction of the building which After three and a half years and in the second instance, the following sanctions resulted:[24][25]
- Structural designer (Jorge Aristizábal): Cancellation of professional registration for life.[25]
- Structural reviewer (Edgar Ardila): Cancellation of professional registration for life.[25]
- Builders of the building (María Cecilia Posada and Pablo Villegas): Suspension of professional registration between 20 and 22 months.[25]
- Soil study (Bernardo Vieco): Suspension of professional registration for 6 months.[25]
See also
edit- Surfside condominium collapse, another apartment collapse in 2021
- Collapse of the World Trade Center, a series of skyscraper collapses in 2001
References
edit- ^ "Se desplomó edificio Space en el barrio El Poblado". Archived from the original on November 6, 2013. Retrieved November 1, 2013.
- ^ Ordenan evacuación de las dos torres del Edificio Space
- ^ "Ordenan demolición total del edificio Space". www.eluniversal.com.co (in Spanish). January 20, 2014. Retrieved September 20, 2024.
- ^ a b La demolición de la torre 5 del edificio Space
- ^ a b Fue un éxito la demolición de la torre 5 del conjunto Space
- ^ La implosión del edificio Space
- ^ a b Se realizó con éxito la implosión del edificio Space
- ^ a b Se cumplió implosión para derribar torres del Space
- ^ El ministerio de vivienda ya inicio el proyecto de ley antispace
- ^ "El efecto del edificio Space". Semana. October 19, 2013.
- ^ "Vivimos en una edificación que no garantizaba la vida". El Espectador. January 21, 2014.
- ^ a b c "El concepto de Uniandes sobre el caso Space". Universidad de los Andes. 2015. Archived from the original on November 20, 2016. Retrieved November 20, 2016.
- ^ a b Caicedo, Bernardo; Alonso, Eduardo; Mendoza, Cristhian C. (November 2, 2021). "The collapse of Space building". ResearchGate. Retrieved September 20, 2024.
- ^ "En cinco días propietarios de edificio en El Poblado podrán volver a habitarlo: CDO". El Colombiano. October 11, 2013.
- ^ "Hallan un quinto cuerpo entre los escombros del edificio Space". Noticias RCN. October 23, 2013.
- ^ Jiménez, Juan Diego Ortiz (October 12, 2023). "10 años de la caída del edificio Space: la herida aún no cierra y la última condena no se ha pagado". www.elcolombiano.com (in European Spanish). Retrieved September 20, 2024.
- ^ "Medellin tower blocks demolished after collapse". BBC News. September 23, 2014. Retrieved September 20, 2024.
- ^ García, Luis E.; Sozen, Mete A.; Fiorato, Anthony; Yamín, Luis E.; Correal, Juan F. (September 1, 2016). "An Insight into the Space Building Collapse". Special Publication. 311: 1–14. doi:10.14359/51689322. ISBN 978-1-945487-24-8.
- ^ Universidad de los Andes (October 3, 2014). "Concepto técnico en relación a las causas más probables del colapso del edificio Space" (PDF).
- ^ "Diseños estructurales fueron la causa del desplome del edificio Space". October 4, 2014.
- ^ "Presidente Santos sanciono ley anti-space". July 13, 2016.
- ^ Investigadores de Los Andes premiados por el American Concrete Institute
- ^ García, Luis E.; Sozen, Mete A.; et al. (2016). "An Insight into the Space Building Collapse". ACI Symposium Publication. 311 (published September 1, 2016): 1–14. doi:10.14359/51689322. ISBN 978-1-945487-24-8. Retrieved February 26, 2022.
- ^ Juan Diego Ortiz (April 18, 2017). "Tres años después de tragedia del Space sancionan a ingenieros" (in Spanish). Casa Editorial El Tiempo. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
- ^ a b c d e Santiago Cárdenas, Víctor Andrés Álvarez (April 18, 2017). "Cancelan matrícula profesional a ingenieros del edificio Space" (in Spanish). El Colombiano. Retrieved April 18, 2017.