Poorly designed, even for the 1970s
The Champlain Towers South design violated building codes at the time of original construction. On the northern side, under the portion of the tower that collapsed, the columns were too narrow to accommodate all of the vertical and horizontal rebar called for in the plans while maintaining clearance required by the code. The pool deck had narrow columns and inadequate load bearing capacity, engineers consulted by the Herald found. Only columns beneath the surviving structure were fully compliantA team consisting of Sarah Blaskey, Aaron Leibowitz and Ben Conarck worked with four engineers and a general contractor to analyze the "Anatomy of Collapse, and explain the failure of the Champlain Towers South in Surfside, FL. One key factor in the collapse appears to have been "punching shear" failure in the first-floor slab.
The Champlain Towers South design violated building codes at the time of original construction. On the northern side, under the portion of the tower that collapsed, the columns were too narrow to accommodate all of the vertical and horizontal rebar called for in the plans while maintaining clearance required by the code. The pool deck had narrow columns and inadequate load bearing capacity, engineers consulted by the Herald found. Only columns beneath the surviving structure were fully compliant
A team consisting of Sarah Blaskey, Aaron Leibowitz and Ben Conarck worked with four engineers and a general contractor to analyze the "Anatomy of Collapse, and explain the failure of the Champlain Towers South in Surfside, FL. One key factor in the collapse appears to have been "punching shear" failure in the first-floor slab.
