In the article “Hotel
New World Collapse”, Lim (2009) discussed the events leading up to the collapse
of Hotel New World, which was caused by a series of engineering faults and poor
building management. Hotel New World was a multi-story building that was
constructed in 1971 and was located at Owen Road. According to Lim, the
collapse of Hotel New World in 1986 was so devastating that it did not leave
any walls and columns standing. After the collapse, rescue teams consisting of
both local and foreign specialists were dispatched. Lim states that former
president Wee Kim Wee initiated the commencement of the collapse investigation
on 22 March 1986. Lim states that according to the investigation report, the
primary reason for the collapse “was due to inadequate structural design of the
building”. The additional installation on the roof also contributed and
accelerated the collapse. The investigation report also mentioned that visible
“cracks in the column, wall, and floor” were observed prior to the collapse.
Further investigation showed that the team behind the construction consists of
unqualified personnel.
Arnold, D. (2011). Articles - Self-Healing Concrete. Retrieved 6 March 2020, from https://www.ingenia.org.uk/Ingenia/Articles/eb2f64de-2493-4dfc-9adc-3ae8e13ca477 The focal point of this article was the progression of 'self-healing' concrete technology over the years. According to the article 'self-healing' concrete is a mixture of concrete containing 'self-healing' agents such as bacteria and nutrients. The idea of incorporating 'self-healing' agents into concrete mix design of the buildings had been conceived in the late 1900s. However, the idea was not fully realized due to the absence of interest from the ‘commercial engineering sector’. Fortunately, the idea was revived in the early 2000s when numerous notable ‘industry players’ made a partnership with Delft University to further the research and development of self-healing concrete. The pursuit of finding a suitable self-healing agent started in 2006 at Delft University. It was discovered t...
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