By: James D’Aloisio, PE SECB, LEED AP; Klepper, Hahn & Hyatt - jad@khhpc.com
Structural engineers should be students of failure. Understanding the circumstances of building collapses can inform and improve their practice to reduce the potential for problems to occur on their projects. Others who are involved in building design, construction, operation, and maintenance can also learn from the stories of building collapses. We’ll briefly review the circumstances of ten complete or partial building collapses that have occurred over the past 41 years – five that have occurred in New York, two others in other states in the U.S., and three in other countries. Four of these events resulted in no casualties, but each of the other six caused significant fatalities and injuries. For each failure, we’ll identify the causes, or possible causes, and offer takeaways for building professionals.