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(Finalized) Reader Response Draft #4 : "4 Ways to Demolish a Building"

Finalized Reader Response:

In the article “4 Ways to Demolish a Building”, Rodriguez (2018) states the methods of building demolition. The author also mentions 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. The final method mentioned in the article is selective demolition, which is the selective removing of the building’s materials. It allows builders to reuse and recycle them, and its environmentally friendly approach has increased its popularity over the years. 

The author mentions the primary considerations when planning on how to demolish a building. However, he 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 environment of a building demolition work, there is a probability of being exposed to danger, risk, injury, and even death. 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 accident resulted in a project manager 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. In this case, it is clear that there were insufficient safety precautions taken in this building demolition plan. 

Secondly, the author should have stated that risk assessment is essential when planning a building demolition. Risk assessment is the evaluation of all possible risks that can happen in an activity. Dalton (2018) mentions the method used in this building demolition incident was the implosion method, which is more prone to risks. The author 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. Woo (2016) 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 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), which mentions that an approved permit is required for demolition works.

In conclusion, the author talked about the four building demolition methods in a straightforward and clear tone that is easy to understand, with relevant details and references. However, other key factors when planning a building demolition could have been mentioned. Additionally, the mentioned primary considerations in the article could have been further elaborated in order to make the article more informative.


Revised: 11th Oct 2018
References
Building and Construction Authority. (2018). Structural Plan Approval And Permit To Commence Structural Works. Retrieved from https://www.bca.gov.sg/StructuralPlan/structural_plan_application.html

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

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

Rodriguez. J. (2018). 4 Ways to Demolish a Building. Retrieved from https://www.thebalancesmb.com/ways-to-demolish-buildings-844420


Woo. E. (2016). UW begins construction without permit. Retrieved from http://www.savethereactor.org/news/2016/7/8/uw-begins-deconstruction-without-permit

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