Construction experts explain the various factors that likely came into play, leading to the collapse of a building which had reportedly been sinking for some time.
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Articles on Tall buildings
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People love to connect with nature and that’s possible with vertical gardens on high-rise developments. But gardens need a gardener to keep things under control.
If more people work from home and shop online, many commercial buildings won’t be needed any longer. What will be needed is affordable housing, and these buildings can be converted to meet this need.
The tall buildings of our cities kill horrifying numbers of birds. But some cities are adopting mandatory design measures to cut the toll.
The problems of demolishing high-rise buildings in busy cities point to the need to prepare for unbuilding at the time of building. We’d then be much better placed to recycle building materials.
Planning controls in Melbourne were eased 20 years ago, with mixed results, and new limits are now in place. Will other cities that have eased height limits, like Adelaide, avoid the same mistakes?
Architects, certifiers and engineers who work as consultants to builders are on notice about potential liability for the use of flammable cladding, but governments are also culpable for their actions.
The risks of combustible cladding on high-rise buildings have long been known. And audits have identified hundreds of Australian buildings with this cladding. Delay in replacing it is inexcusable.
As more and more Australians live and work in high-rise buildings, their responsibilities and roles in ensuring all occupants’ safety must not be neglected.
Fortunately, no lives were lost in the latest cladding fire in Melbourne, but it’s a stark reminder of the urgent need to track and verify that building materials comply with safety standards.
Tall buildings are an increasing feature of Australia’s city landscapes, although they’re still relatively small compared to overseas. But is there a limit on how high we can build?
New technology could make it practical to build skyscrapers far taller than even today’s highest – and change how people live, work and play in tall buildings.
Top contributors
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Lecturer in Architecture, Practice and Design, Swinburne University of Technology
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Adjunct professor of architecture, University of Adelaide
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Senior Lecturer, School of Property, Construction and Project Management, RMIT University
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Lecturer, Monash University, Monash University
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Executive Director, Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat; Visiting Professor of Architecture and Urban Planning, Tongji University Shanghai; Research Professor of Architecture, Illinois Institute of Technology
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Tenured Researcher in Building Technology, Università Iuav di Venezia
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Research fellow, The University of Queensland
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Professor of Fire Protection Engineering, University of Maryland
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Kevin Argus is a Friend of The Conversation.
Lecturer, Marketing & Design Thinking, RMIT University
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Professor, Sustainable Built Environment, RMIT University
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Senior Lecturer and Co-Director of Studies for Construction Law, The University of Melbourne
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Senior Lecturer in Construction, RMIT University
