Re:In San Francisco, a Sinking Skyscraper and a Deepening Di...
by repsilat on Sunday September 25, 2016 @12:21PM
(#12575946)
> built on landfill
Silly question, but does this mean "built on reclaimed land" in the US? Where I'm from it would mean "built on top of literal garbage."
Re:In San Francisco, a Sinking Skyscraper and a Deepening Di...
by charliepark on Sunday September 25, 2016 @12:31PM
(#12575990)
In the US, "reclaimed land" and "on top of literal garbage" are essentially the same thing. Discussion of that very thing is in this really interesting episode of 99% Invisible from last week: http://99percentinvisible.org/episode/making-up-ground/
Fixing it will probably require cutting holes and driving down to bedrock, then pouring new concrete. It will have to be carefully done to avoid weakening the foundation and to make sure the new Piles don't poke through the concrete like a bed of nails.
The developer cheaped out... using reinforced concrete is less expensive than steel but it makes the building a lot heavier. Why the city let them skip out on anchoring to bedrock for such a tall building in an earthquake zone I have no idea. I do find it hilarious that all the other big towers going up are happily advertising their bedrock pillar work.