by Bob Walsh
Regular readers will remember I have written a time or three about the Millennium Tower, a high-rise residential tower in the Peoples Republic of San Francisco. It has now sunk about 17 inches below where it was supposed to settle. It is, so the experts say, going to sink at least another ten inches. It is also now significantly out of plumb. Prices have dropped precipitously for units in the 58 story tower.
Well, the place now has a new problem. A separation between the curtain wall and the interior structure of the building which makes for a chimney effect. Right now it is only conveying really nasty smells thru the building. However, in the event of a fire, it could (depending on how extensive the separation is) end up allowing a fire to spread upwards thru the building at a terrifying rate. (Remember the disaster flick THE TOWERING INFERNO?)
Last month some of the face panels on the building were removed to allow experts and the fire department access to the inner structure of the building. Various geologists and architects have asserted that this separation will continue to get worse as the building continues to settle more and tilt more, placing an increasing strain on the curtain wall.
Pretty much everybody involved is suing pretty much everybody else involved. Who knew building codes could be so much fun??
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