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Summary Draft #3 : "4 Ways to Demolish a Building"

Summary + Reader Response:

In the article “4 Ways to Demolish a Building”, Rodriguez (2018) states that several factors are taken into consideration when planning a building demolition; the area, the building’s materials, and the purpose of the demolition.

Implosion involves the use of explosives, which is placed at identified areas through analysis of the building’s blueprints. The author states the high reach arm method is an alternative and is typically used for buildings exceeding 66 feet. It involves a base machine “fitted with a long demolition arm” that is attached to a crusher tool to break the building from the top. It is safer than the wrecking ball method, which is a traditional and common practice of building demolition. The ball is suspended from a crane and then swung into the building. However, this method produces a high amount of noise, dust, and vibration. Selective demolition is the selective removing of the building’s materials. It allows builders to reuse and recycle them. By reducing as much waste as possible, this results in its increasing popularity due to the environmental friendly approach. 

The article mentions the primary considerations when planning on how to demolish a building. However, the article fails to mention other key factors when planning a building demolition; safety concerns, risk assessment and the permit requirements. 

Firstly, the author should have mentioned the safety concerns and its importance in a building demolition plan. In the article “Miami Beach building collapse was an accident” (2018), it was mentioned that the “building collapsed July 21 in an unsafe manner” and “something happened during the controlled demolition that sent the entire building crashing down at once”. This resulted in a project manager from the subcontracting company being injured and passing away the week after. Despite the man being outside of the building’s premises, he was hit by a projectile from the debris of the building’s collapse. Hence, it is clear that there were insufficient safety precautions taken in this building demolition plan, especially if the debris of the collapse could extend outside of the building’s perimeters.  

Secondly, the author should have stated that risk assessment is essential when planning a building demolition. According to the article “Demolition accident as Silo Tower falls wrong way and crushes cultural centre” (2018), the method used in this building demolition was the implosion method, which involves the use of explosives. It was also mentioned that “When you look at what has been done in preparation, it should fall the other way. It’s really unfortunate that it went wrong that way”. Through this statement, it is clear that the involved parties of the building demolition did not assess all possible risks despite undergoing planning for six months. If they had prepared a thorough risk assessment and had taken into consideration how things could have gone wrong, they would have been able to prevent the accident. 

Lastly, the author had failed to mention the importance of obtaining the relevant permits required in a building demolition plan. In the article “UW begins deconstruction without permit” (2016), it was mentioned that the University of Washington commenced demolition works without a demolition permit. The university had already handed in a demolition application, but they did not wait for approval and began demolition works. This resulted in complaints and a “stop work order and notice of violation” was issued by inspectors. Even though the demolition did not post any threats, it was temporarily halted as it was not officially approved. This shows that it is important to obtain the required permits for a building demolition so as to prevent such unnecessary delays from occurring. This point can be further supported in the website “Structural Plan Approval And Permit To Commence Structural Works” (2018). 


References 
A Miami Beach building collapse was an accident, contractor says. (2018). CNN Wire. Retrieved, September 25, 2018 from https://wtkr.com/2018/07/23/miami-beach-building-collapse-was-an-accident-contractor-says/ 

Accident at Columbia University-owned demolition site kills one, injures two. (2012). TheRealDeal. Retrieved, September 26, 2018) from https://therealdeal.com/2012/03/22/accident-at-columbia-university-demolition-site- kills-one- injures-two/ 

Demolition accident as silo tower falls wrong way and crushes cultural centre. (2018). TheIndependent. Retrieved, September 26, 2018 from https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/denmark-silo-tower-video-demolition- vordingborg-collapse-wrong-way-library-a8295651.html

Structural Plan Approval And Permit To Commence Structural Works. (2018). BuildingandConstructionAuthority. Retrieved, September 2, 2018 from https://www.bca.gov.sg/StructuralPlan/structural_plan_application.html

UW begins construction without permit. (2016). SaveTheReactor. Retrieved, September 26, 2018 from http://www.savethereactor.org/news/2016/7/8/uw-begins-deconstruction-without-permit 


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