Archinect - News

2023 saw twelve-year high fatality rates for construction workers

2024-12-20T16:33:00-05:00

Last year was one of the deadliest on record for construction workers since 2011. The findings produced by the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicated that the rate of deaths in 2023 was still unchanged from the previous year’s survey. The fatality rate (9.6 per 100,000) has been hovering around what OHSA considers to be a relatively high 10 per 100,000 for over a decade, the span in which the workforce has grown some 31%. (h/t Construction Dive).

Berlin's world-record AquaDom fish tank attraction is kaput after apparent accident

2022-12-16T13:01:00-05:00

A giant aquarium containing a million litres of water in the lobby of the Radisson Blu in Berlin has burst, flooding the hotel and nearby streets. A spokesman for Berlin's fire brigade told the BBC the vast majority of the fish had died, and the cold weather had made rescue attempts more difficult. The tank had contained more than 100 different specie. A police source told local media there is no evidence the break was the result of a targeted attack.

The reportedly €12.8 million ($13.85 million USD) feature inside the central Mitte district’s Radisson Blu Hotel is considered to be the largest cylindrical fish tank in the world and was, until the accident, home to 1,500 fish. Only two human injuries were reported.

The current cold snap that’s testing the country’s morbid winter heating concerns is thought to be the culprit. Berlin police were forced to close a busy stretch of Karl-Liebknecht Street as a result of the damage.

There are no indications of a targeted, violent attack on the large aquarium in central Berlin, police say.

The fire brigade added that the giant tank "burst abruptly."

More: https://t.co/y3Ht4q63q9 pic.twitter.com/IJBKqRfMBm
— DW News (@dwnews) December 16, 2022

Hong Kong's legendary Jumbo Floating Restaurant capsizes in the South China Sea

2022-06-23T13:48:00-04:00

Hong Kong's iconic Jumbo Floating Restaurant has capsized in the South China Sea less than a week after it was towed away from the city, its parent company said Monday. The restaurant was towed away last Tuesday. The company said it planned to move it to a lower-cost site where maintenance could be carried out. It said that prior to its departure, the vessel had been thoroughly inspected by marine engineers and hoardings were installed, and all relevant approvals were obtained.

The Wes Anderson-like former fine-dining establishment served some rather well-regarded Cantonese cuisine to diners for more than forty years before being closed and decommissioned earlier this month following the Covid-caused economic downturn of 2020. The three-story vessel reportedly went down in heavy seas near the disputed Parcel Islands chain last week while in the process of being towed to an undisclosed “lower cost site,” according to Aberdeen Restaurant Enterprises, the management group responsible for the remaining entity.

Hong Kong’s provisional government had been working on “the rebirth of the floating restaurant” before the sinking, but will now have to shift focus to other preservation efforts as the Jumbo reportedly went down in a spot of ocean more than 1,000 meters (3,280 feet) deep.

NYC construction workers injured at the site of architect Erica Tishman's 2019 death as concerns mount

2022-03-15T13:54:00-04:00

A collapsing floor injured two workers Monday at a midtown office building where falling exterior work killed a prominent architect in 2019. The accident at 729 Seventh Avenue happened just before 10 a.m. During active demolition work on the 18th floor, part of the floor collapsed, sending two workers dropping to the 17th floor. They were taken to area hospitals; their conditions were not immediately clear.

The address is well known as the site where, in December 2019, architect Erica Tishman was struck by a piece of falling debris that her family claims directly resulted from negligence on the part of the property developer and the Department of Buildings. Administrative code charges brought against the former before the New Year are still pending.

Previously on Archinect: Criminal charges have been filed in the accidental death of architect Erica Tishman

Monday’s incident highlights a hidden problem in construction sites across New York City. One recent study by the New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health (NYCOSH) revealed a rising number of fatalities amongst construction workers in spite of a continued Covid-induced downturn in new projects. Non-union workers are particularly prone to such accidents. It is not clear at this time whether or not workers on the site were unionized or not.

A piece of cladding fell off of the Hancock Center in Chicago

2022-01-07T17:09:00-05:00

A large chunk of aluminum cladding fell off the Hancock building earlier this week, frightening neighbors. The piece of cladding fell about 3 p.m. Wednesday, landing atop a planter on the building’s south side off Chestnut Street. No one was injured.

The incident is eerily reminiscent of the tragic 2019 death of architect Erica Tishman in Manhattan, which has resulted in recent criminal charges in addition to a host of lawsuits brought against the property developers and city by the architect’s family and Department of Buildings.

Engineers have temporarily given the okay to the building’s property manager and 2nd Ward Alderman Brian Hopkins in lieu of a more detailed inspection, which they say will take place as soon as the weather allows.

“This is the first time anyone can ever recall a piece of this aluminum cladding material coming off the building. It simply hasn’t happened,” Hopkins said. “We don’t think this is an indication of a trend that pieces are suddenly going to start falling off the building. We have no reason to believe that.”

Santiago Calatrava’s slippery Venice pedestrian bridge is getting a facelift after multiple injuries

2022-01-04T15:22:00-05:00

Officials in Venice are finally caving to local demands to author significant changes to Santiago Calatrava’s Ponta della Costituzione bridge following years of protest and a rash of recent injuries.

The New York Times is reporting that glass from the pedestrian bridge is going to be removed and replaced with more trachyte stone that will avert any possible future spills which have befallen users thanks to the 94-meter-long structure’s slippery surface.

Located along Venice’s Grand Canal, the bridge was supposed to be a refreshing modern connector to the city’s main rail station but became a liability only a short time after opening in September of 2008.

The completed bridge shortly before opening in 2008. Image © Filippo Leonardi via the Comune di Venezia.

“People hurt themselves, and they sue the administration. We have to intervene.” Venice public works official Francesca Zaccariotto told the Times.

Over the years, the city has tried multiple ways to mitigate the hazards cause...

Criminal charges have been filed in the accidental death of architect Erica Tishman

2021-12-23T18:16:00-05:00

A new development in the 2019 accidental death of architect Erica Tishman as criminal charges have been filed against property owners 729 Acquisitions LLC.

NBC4 New York is reporting that the administrative code charges were brought by the NYC Department of Buildings. The architect’s family had previously pursued a civil case against the development company, which is managed by Himmel + Meringoff Partners, after claiming the architect’s death was essentially her own fault in an initial liability suit brought against the city.

"It is alleged that even though the defendants had been made aware of the deteriorating façade conditions that posed an immediate danger to the public, they failed to make necessary repairs and failed to install a sidewalk shed in front of the building to protect pedestrians from the unsafe façade conditions," NBC is reporting the DOB to have said.

Previously on Archinect: Legal ramifications in the death of architect Erica Tishman escalate: New report shows in...

Legal ramifications in the death of architect Erica Tishman escalate: New report shows increased negligence on the part of NYC's Department of Buildings

2021-07-20T19:25:00-04:00

The widower of a beloved architect who died tragically in an accident is now taking aim at the property developers in his ongoing quest for justice.

A judge in New York is now allowing a suit to be brought against Himmel + Meringoff Properties, which manages the Seventh Avenue building through an LLC called 729 Acquisitions. The ruling clears the way for larger damages to be assessed against the company as part of a larger case initiated by the late husband of architect Erica L. Tishman.

Tishman was killed in December of 2019 after being hit by debris from a crumbling terracotta facade that came off the 18-story building managed by Himmel + Meringoff. The development group, which has declined to repair the feature, was subsequently fined a measly $1,250 and ordered by the city to construct a protective shed at a cost of $13,000.

Himmel + Meringoff had reportedly been warned as recently as July of 2019 that the facade of 729 Seventh Avenue was a hazard and in dire need of repair.

P...

Footage released of the Arecibo Telescope's dramatic cable failure and collapse

2020-12-07T11:12:00-05:00

The National Science Foundation (NSF), last week, released video of the Arecibo Telescope's cable failure and collapse. Part of the Arecibo Observatory, the telescope was completed in 1963, and was the largest single-aperture telescope until 2016. This year, NSF decommissioned the telescope following two cable breaks. On December 1st, the suspended receiver's supporting cables failed, resulting in the collapse of the entire assembly.

See the NSF-released video footage below:

Architect killed in NYC due to neglected code violations — city tries to dodge liability, claiming NYC sidewalks are inherently dangerous

2020-10-21T12:10:00-04:00

Erica Tishman died last year after rubble fell from 729 Seventh Ave. and struck her in the head. The building had several outstanding violations with the Department of Buildings some of which her family’s lawyers say still hadn’t been addressed when the family sued the city and building owner in August for wrongful death and negligence.

According to Daily News, the city Law Department tried to dodge liability in a new Manhattan Supreme Court filing by saying the city streets are known to be dangerous, so people on sidewalks should be prepared for the worst. The city Law Department wrote: "Plaintiff(s) knew or should have known in the exercise of due/reasonable care of the risks and dangers incident to engaging in the activity alleged," as reported by Daily News. The "activity alleged" here refers to walking on a sidewalk.

NYC architect, Erica Tishman, was killed by falling masonry while walking on a sidewalk in midtown Manhattan in December, 2019

Stephen Rex Brown, writing for Daily News goes further: "In other words, the city is saying that by “voluntarily” walking down the sidewalk, Tishman assumed a risk of injury — including a risk that stonework might fall from a building not properly inspected by the city," he writes.

The case is currently pending.

Hidden well discovered in home built in 1800s; man falls through floor

2020-07-08T12:14:00-04:00

According to The New York Times' Allyson Waller, "Chris Town was assembling a bed frame for a friend's son in a 19th century house in Guilford, Connecticut....when the floor gave out beneath him." Town had fallen into a fieldstone cistern well that was concealed beneath the floor boards, Waller reports. The well was 20 feet deep and was filled with about seven feet of water.

Firefighters were called to come and rescue Town from the well, a feat Capt. Chris Gode said he has never had to execute in his 26 years of service. According to Waller, the house was built in 1843 and the floorboards over the well was likely a later addition.

"Sometimes homes had wells in their basements in order to protect them from freezing,” Dennis Johnson, director of health for the town of Guilford told The New York Times. "Then, with really historic homes, sometimes we occasionally find them in an addition on a house, or in a basement or right next to the house. Occasionally you do find them, but it’s not...

Ironworker killed at Amazon airport construction site

2020-02-10T14:56:00-05:00

An ironworker was killed...while performing work on the $1.5 billion Amazon Air hub project at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG) in Hebron, Kentucky, an incident confirmed via an emailed statement to Construction Dive from the general contractor, Whiting-Turner Kokosing JV. The Boone County, Kentucky, coroner has identified the worker as 46-year-old Loren Shoemake and said he died from blunt force trauma.

According to Construction Dive, a full investigation is underway led by OSHA. In a statement, Amazon said, "Our thoughts and prayers are with the family, along with the contractors and construction teams during this difficult time," reports Construction Dive.

Families sue following Google site crane collapse in Seattle last year

2020-01-14T13:07:00-05:00

Family members of two of the four people killed in the April crane collapse site have filed wrongful death suits against companies involved in crane operations at the South Lake Union construction site. Gusting winds knocked the crane over the afternoon of April 27, after workers prematurely removed pins holding 20-foot sections together, leading to a tragedy that state regulators called “totally avoidable.”

The collapse in April killed two iron workers, Andrew Yoder, 31, and Travis Corbet, 33; Alan Justad, 71, a former city planning official; and Sarah Wong, a 19-year-old Seattle Pacific University student, The Seattle Times reports.

The families have filed suites against Morrow Equipment, GLY Construction, Northwest Tower Crane Service, Omega Morgan, and Seaburg Construction, all responsible for operating and dismantling the crane, The Seattle Times writes.

Collapsing crane kills four at new Seattle Google campus

2019-04-29T13:25:00-04:00

Seattle’s construction frenzy turned deadly Saturday afternoon when a tower crane working on a new Google campus fell like a thunderbolt from the roof of a South Lake Union building, smashing into six cars and killing four people.

"The four-building, 607,000-square-foot project will house a new Google Seattle campus, and also include about 150 new apartments," reports The Seattle Times about the tragic incident at a South Lake Union site at Fairview Avenue and Mercer Street. "Construction began in 2017 and is set to be finished this year. Google had put its name on the building in the last few days."

Washington state officials have launched an investigation.

Construction webcam shows before and after of the deadly crane collapse in Seattle this afternoon. At least 4 people are dead https://t.co/YIcT09LpNY pic.twitter.com/Ywoe9VH7Nv
— Mike Rosenberg (@ByRosenberg) April 28, 2019

Nashville's booming construction sector also leads in workplace-related injuries, study shows

2018-09-17T18:32:00-04:00

The culture of fear and intimidation on construction sites has led to basic safety precautions being overlooked. Nashville is currently the most dangerous city in the south for construction workers, according to a report released in May 2017 by the Partnership for Working Families, Workers Defense Project and the University of Illinois at Chicago professor Nik Theodore, titled Build a Better South: Construction Working Conditions in the US South.

The Build a Better South: Construction Working Conditions in the US South study examined construction industry labor conditions across six key cities in the southern United States: Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas, Houston, Miami, and Nashville.

"Among workers who had been injured during the past year, just 19% reported that workers’ compensation covered the medical bills for their injury," the study finds for Nashville which had the highest injury rate of all six surveyed southern cities. "An additional 38% said that their employer paid for at least part of the medical bills through some other mechanism, but 19% of injured workers paid for the medical bills out of their own pocket. The fact that fewer than one in five injured workers in Tennessee had their medical bills covered by workers’ compensation is troubling given the fact that all construction employers with one or more employees in the state are legally required to be covered by a workers’ compensation insurance policy."

Find t...

London tower block fire kills twelve; previous warnings about "very poor fire safety standards" may have gotten ignored

2017-06-14T14:00:00-04:00

Twelve people have died in a west London tower block fire and the number of deaths are expected to rise, police have said. [...] Grenfell Tower underwent a two-year £10m refurbishment as part of a wider transformation of the estate, that was completed last year. [...] Before and during the refurbishment, the local Grenfell Action Group claimed that the block constituted a fire risk and residents warned that site access for emergency vehicles was "severely restricted".

While it's still too early to determine the cause of the fire, the BBC reports that "before and during the refurbishment, the local Grenfell Action Group claimed that the block constituted a fire risk and residents warned that site access for emergency vehicles was "severely restricted"."

Latest updates on the disastrous blaze can be found in The Guardian's live feed here.

UPDATE, June 14, 2017, 2:06 PM EST:

Latest reports raise the fear that the tower may be seriously in danger of collapsing with structural cracks appearing in the corners. Firefighters have been pulled out of the tower.

Image via @mrgeorgeclarke on Instagram.

#GrenfellTower Tweets

74 reported dead after construction scaffolding collapses in eastern China

2016-11-28T13:44:00-05:00

The cooling tower was being built in the city of Fengcheng in Jiangxi province when the scaffolding tumbled down [...] Chinese President Xi Jinping urged local governments to learn from the accident and hold those responsible accountable. [...] China has suffered several major work-safety accidents in recent years blamed on weak regulatory oversight, systemic corruption and pressure to boost production amid a slowing economy.

According to the Associated Press, the collapse is "the country's worst work-safety accident in over two years." The cause is currently under investigation.

Related on Archinect:

11 workers have died so far during Rio Olympic construction, audit finds

2016-04-26T13:46:00-04:00

Eleven people died while working on Olympic facilities or Games-related projects between January 2013 and March 2016, according to a report released Monday by Rio de Janeiro's Regional Labor and Employment Office. The report, released by Elaine Castilho, the auditor for the Rio Olympic Games works, also notes that no workers died in the preparations for the 2012 Summer Games in London.

Google's self-driving car hits bus and causes its first crash

2016-03-01T14:11:00-05:00

Google said on Monday it bears "some responsibility" after one of its self-driving cars struck a municipal bus in a minor crash earlier this month. The crash may be the first case of one of its autonomous cars hitting another vehicle and the fault of the self-driving car. [...] Google said in the filing the autonomous vehicle was traveling at less than 2 miles per hour, while the bus was moving at about 15 miles per hour.

Disastrous landslide burying dozens in Shenzhen likely caused by piled up soil from construction work

2015-12-21T11:58:00-05:00

Dozens of people are missing after a landslide engulfed 22 buildings at an industrial park in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen. [...] Local media reported that the soil that came loose had been dug up in the past two years in construction work and was piled up nearby. A statement on Weibo from the Shenzhen municipal government said the landslide had also triggered an explosion at a nearby gas station. A landslide in the country's Zhejiang province in November killed at least 25 people.

"Shenzhen's fire brigade said it was working to free other trapped people - state media say 59 remain missing. Two workers' dormitories are among the affected buildings."

It's been a rough few months in the news for China lately:

Work at Manhattan's 432 Park Ave tower ordered to stop after pipe falls from 81st floor

2015-01-16T14:37:00-05:00

Work was halted on a luxury-condominium tower in midtown Manhattan after an 8-foot piece of guardrail from a construction elevator fell from the 81st floor to the street below. The New York City Department of Buildings ordered all work stopped at 432 Park Ave., the 1,397-foot tower being built by Harry Macklowe and CIM Group [...]. The building, slated for completion this year, is one of the tallest residential tower in the Western Hemisphere, according to the property's website.

Architect Robert Woo, paralyzed in Goldman Sachs construction mishap, walks with ‘exoskeleton’

2011-11-04T14:00:16-04:00

It’s like a body brace with a backpack and gizmos that resemble shotguns near the knees. A physical therapist operates a remote control that makes the patient step when their body is properly aligned.