Take some ill-advised excavation, stir in a tower block, add water and…
William Sinclair, managing director of Safedem, explosive demolition expert and 2nd vice president of the National Federation of Demolition Contractors has just forwarded to us a set of photos that show what happens when you combine some over-zealous Chinese groundworkers, a torrential downpour, and a tower block.
According to the accompanying English- language captions, an underground garage was being dug on the south side of the building, to a depth of 4.6 meters. The excavated material was being piled up on the north side, to a height of 10 meters. However, the building experienced uneven lateral pressure from south and north. This resulted in a lateral pressure of 3,000 tonnes, which was greater than the pilings could tolerate, and the building toppled over in the southerly direction.
Here’s the result:
