Post by Zac Loh on Nov 17, 2007 4:57:25 GMT -5
Have you noticed how much time it takes for builders to complete the foundation phase of a building?
The foundation phase is considerably longer as compared to the speed each floor/level is built after the foundation phase.
The higher the building is planned, the deeper the foundation has to go!
And the materials of the foundation consist of the strongest items - iron and concrete.
A classic, but sad, incident which epitomizes my point is the Highland Towers tragedy.
On December 1993, Block A of Highland Towers condominiums at Ulu Kelang collapsed killing 48 people.
This tragedy was a media headline for a prolong period of time. It caught the attention of the highest offices of the government including our Prime Minister.
It became our national interest. Many survey works were carried-out and reports made. Experts and consultants were commissioned by the authority.
The cause for this unnecessary tragedy, they found out, was due to ground foundational failure.
After that, major preventive corrective measures were taken for the whole industry in the country. Existing construction laws were amended to a stricter mode, and new ones were gazetted. Finally, the parties responsible were charged in court.
In hindsight, I believe that this tragedy could have been averted if the building maintenance supervisors had also checked the foundation, instead of merely the cosmetics like painting of the walls and landscaping. They focused on the conspicuous such as the electrical and water system. But why not have geologists inspect the foundation which is the most important of all? It is so mind boggling!
The experts later found out, because of excessive heavy rain, there exists an underground stream running underneath the building.
How could they have missed the fundamental? It stumped me when I first realized this.
In Christendom, it amazes me how we sometimes missed the most basic teaching!
The foundation phase is considerably longer as compared to the speed each floor/level is built after the foundation phase.
The higher the building is planned, the deeper the foundation has to go!
And the materials of the foundation consist of the strongest items - iron and concrete.
A classic, but sad, incident which epitomizes my point is the Highland Towers tragedy.
On December 1993, Block A of Highland Towers condominiums at Ulu Kelang collapsed killing 48 people.
This tragedy was a media headline for a prolong period of time. It caught the attention of the highest offices of the government including our Prime Minister.
It became our national interest. Many survey works were carried-out and reports made. Experts and consultants were commissioned by the authority.
The cause for this unnecessary tragedy, they found out, was due to ground foundational failure.
After that, major preventive corrective measures were taken for the whole industry in the country. Existing construction laws were amended to a stricter mode, and new ones were gazetted. Finally, the parties responsible were charged in court.
In hindsight, I believe that this tragedy could have been averted if the building maintenance supervisors had also checked the foundation, instead of merely the cosmetics like painting of the walls and landscaping. They focused on the conspicuous such as the electrical and water system. But why not have geologists inspect the foundation which is the most important of all? It is so mind boggling!
The experts later found out, because of excessive heavy rain, there exists an underground stream running underneath the building.
How could they have missed the fundamental? It stumped me when I first realized this.
In Christendom, it amazes me how we sometimes missed the most basic teaching!