Worst engineering disasters - Essay Example

Requirements for Presentation 8. You are to submit a verbal and visual presentation to inform /teach the class 9. Professional presentation methods are expected. 10. Each presentation is expected to be 15 minutes long. Consider some of the following information for your presentation and reports. Who was the A/E What do other architects think of the structure How does the architecture fit in with the surrounding architecture or environment Why were particular materials used What were some of the methods of construction used that were covered in class What sort of construction/architectural innovations does it have What are some of the constraints of the materials used / the design/ the site of the building How has the structure been altered over the years How have the materials/design stood up to the test of time What would you have done differently if you were the Owner or A/E or Developer1.

0 Overview of Hyatt Regency Walkway CollapseThe Hyatt Regency Hotel in Kansas, Missouri was a building composed of a 40-story tower, an atrium and a function block. Construction began in 1978 but was only completed only in July 1980. Architectural design called for three suspended walkways spanning the 37-m distance between the tower and the function block. Actual construction resulted to the 3th floor and 4th floor walkway hanging from the ceiling. The 2nd floor walkway was directly below the 4th floor walkway and was hanged from the latter so as to simplify construction.

(Gibble, 1986)With just over a year in operation, the Hyatt Regency Hotel would be the venue for one of the most catastrophic structural collapse in U.S. history. On the 17th of July, 1981, almost 2000 people gathered in the atrium to watch a local radio. Actual construction resulted to the 3th floor and 4th floor walkway hanging from the ceiling. The 2nd floor walkway was directly below the 4th floor walkway and was hanged from the latter so as to simplify construction. (Gibble, 1986) With just over a year in operation, the Hyatt Regency Hotel would be the venue for one of the most catastrophic structural collapse in U.S. history.

On the 17th of July, 1981, almost 2000 people gathered in the atrium to watch a local radio station's dance competition. The 4th, 3rd and 2nd walkways were gradually jam-packed with people as they watch the activity in the lobby below which was also full of people. At about 7:05 PM, a loud crack echoed throughout the building followed by the crashing of the 2nd and 4th floor walkways to the ground. Official figures of casualties were 114 dead and 200 injured. Figure 1 shows pictures of the site of the collapse and the third walkway still intact.

(State of Missouri, 1985) The original structural engineering drawings for the Hyatt project stated that the three walkways spanning the atrium area of the hotel were to be built using W16x26 wide flange beams along either side of the walkway and were hung from a box beam made from two MC8x8.5 rectangular channels, welded toe-to-toe.