A construction fail, building fatigue and cyclonic winds could have all caused RDH wall collapse
A Territory engineer has his own theories on why RDH’s external wall collapsed.
A senior CDU engineering lecturer said Saturday’s wall collapse at Royal Darwin Hospital was most likely caused by a construction failure.
CDU Senior Engineering Lecturer Dr Ali Rajabipour’s comments appeared to contradict chief minister Lia Finocchiaro’s Monday statement backing the building’s integrity.
Dr Ali said he could not say for certain what caused the building to collapse without a personal inspection, but acknowledged the incident was a fail and “not natural”.
He said hospitals are built to last 100 years, and that a combination of cyclonic pressure and a potential construction flaw could have caused the 4m by 4m section of the hospital’s outer wall to collapse, dropping hundreds of bricks across the hospital campus.
The NT News revealed on Monday there were people standing at the ground-floor vending machine, moments before a shower of bricks rained down.
Dr Rajabipour said possible fatigue from years of tropical weather and potentially corrosion in metal rods that support the facade brickwork also could have triggered the collapse. The hospital was opened in 1980.
He said the failure should not have occurred.
“This should not have happened, and is not natural,” he said. “It’s not really about who constructed the hospital, it’s really about the building laws we have here and whether they were followed.
“If somebody follows those rules and those guidelines and standards and used the right materials as specified in the standard, then it really doesn’t matter who’s done the job.
“Somewhere, somebody has not followed the correct rules of practice.”
He said five levels apply to construction infrastructure, with a horse stable being Level 1, and a dam Level 4. Hospitals are supposed to be constructed to a Level 4 standard, meaning the surgeon in theatre can continue the surgery during a cyclone and be able to treat patients post-cyclone.
“These facilities need to survive a Category 5 cyclone, let alone a Category 2 or 3,” he said. “The problem with a facade, even in well-designed structures, is a big issue that’s not special to Darwin.
“I’d need to inspect the site for accuracy, but the side opposite the wind direction is exposed to negative pressure, and that means the facade can be pulled off the building.”
Dr Rajabipour said government should inspect all major public buildings, including hospitals, to determine their integrity.
“We know how buildings behave in cyclones. If experts inspect this important buildings they can make a list of weak points and that will be a start towards developing good design solutions to retrofit or rehabilitate these structures.”
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Originally published as A construction fail, building fatigue and cyclonic winds could have all caused RDH wall collapse
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