Reader's Response draft #2
In the article, “Hotel New World Collapse,” Kayat (2012)
unfolded the theories and reasoning of this catastrophe. The author discusses
about the history, chronology of events and various theories. According to
“Chronology of events,” (1987, as cited in Kayat, 2012), Kayat mentioned that
various theories like internal explosions resulted by gas leakage or terrorism,
defective building materials, poor soil foundation and additional live load
were made. However, they were not the causes to the failure after further
examination. Kayat also stressed that the failure was progressive and was due
to initial inferior structure design and insufficient maintenance. As this was
further mentioned by Neale (2001, as cited in Kayat, 2012), the building
self-weight was overlooked in the calculations done by the engineers and draughtsman.
Neale (2001, as cited in Kayat, 2012) also stated that the calculations should
be checked by a different professional engineer before submission.
The article addressed the causes of the catastrophe in a
well-descripted manner. However, it failed to further elaborate the reasons
behind improper drafting, methods of construction and improper maintenance which
led to the change in legislation of building plans due to the building’s
collapse.
First of all, the author should have stated the reasons
behind improper drafting. Based on the article, it stated that the designers
lacked the attention when noting the dimensions of the individual pillars. These
errors were caused during design phase because the building was designed by
unqualified draftsman rather than a specialised structural engineer. In the article
“Untrained Man drew the plans” (The Straits Times 1986), it mentioned that
Architect’s draughtsman Leong Shui Lung, had no formal licence but was yet
hired without any external engineers to design the building. This meant that
there was no one revaluating the drawings to spot the grave mistakes in
calculations.
Secondly, the author did not include the lack of supervision
that resulted in improper methods of construction. During construction,
managing director of the building, Mr Ng Khong Lim did not employ any personnel
to supervise the site. This meant that during construction, many of the
specifications did not match the actual plan of the building. The report
“COLLAPSE OF HOTEL NEW WORLD,” which was presented to the president, stated
that the construction falls short from the drawings which “compounded the
inadequacy of the structural design.” Such example is during the construction,
the positioning of the supports was misaligned and reinforcements provided in
members were inadequate than specified in drawings. Furthermore, there had been
a frequent change in sub-contractors due to abuse on workers by Mr Ng as they
were paid poorly with their payments delayed; leaving them unsatisfied. In my
opinion, these factors contributed in unsatisfactory means of construction.
Lastly, the author could have elaborated on the maintenance
procedures that were incorrectly done. In the report “COLLAPSE OF HOTEL NEW
WORLD,” it mentioned that there were signs of cracks and weaknesses that were
found either in the walls, floors or supports. However, they were simply
ignored or superficially patched up and no professional opinion was sought after.
This meant that cracks proliferate which resulted in structure degradation. In
my opinion, Mr Ng Khong Lim was ignorant and did little to none to the
maintenance of the building.
In conclusion, even though the building collapsed due to
inferior design as the main reason, there were factors that were needed to be
emphasized to understand the full reason behind this disaster. Factors like untrained
draftsman that drew the plans, lack of supervision during construction and incorrect
maintenance procedures, reveals the need for implementation of new laws so as
to prevent a catastrophe from happening again.
L.P.Thean (February 16, 1987). COLLAPSE OF HOTEL NEW WORLD.
Retrieved February 03, 2018 from REPORT OF INQUIRY INTO THE COLLAPSE OF HOTEL
NEW WORLD. Singapore.
Untrained man drew the plans. (1986, September 18). The
Straits Times, p. 1. Retrieved February 03, 2018, from http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19860918.2.2
The Hotel New World Collapse Commerce Essay. (23rd March,
2015). ukessays. Retrieved February 03, 2018, from https://www.ukessays.com/essays/commerce/the-hotel-new-world-collapse-commerce-essay.php
Revolvy, L. (n.d.). "Hotel New World disaster". Revolvy.
Retrieved February 03, 2018, from
https://www.revolvy.com/main/index.php?s=Hotel New World
disaster&item_type=topic
Alvin, T. (2013). RESILIENCE THROUGH HERITAGE 1: HOTEL NEW
WORLD. National
Heritage Board’s E-books Collection. Retrieved February 03,
2018, from nhb_ebook_hotel_new_world.pdf
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