The Leaning Tower of San Francisco

Tnexster
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The Leaning Tower of San Francisco

Postby Tnexster » 29 Nov 2016 12:56

The leaning tower of San Francisco: a skyscraper is sinking faster than we thought

http://www.dallasnews.com/news/news/201 ... er-thought

For all its issues at least Museum Tower isn't doing this. But seriously, how do they fix this? Or do they?

The satellite data shows the Millennium Tower sunk 40 to 45 millimeters -- or 1.6 to 1.8 inches -- over a recent one-year period and almost double that amount -- 70 to 75 mm (2.6 to 2.9 inches) -- over its 17-month observation period, said Petar Marinkovic, founder and chief scientist of PPO Labs which analyzed the satellite's radar imagery for the ESA along with Norway-based research institute Norut.

"What can be concluded from our data, is that the Millennium Tower is sinking at a steady rate," Marinkovic said in a telephone interview Monday from The Hague, Netherlands.

Tnexster
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Re: The Leaning Tower of San Francisco

Postby Tnexster » 01 Feb 2017 13:14

Who Will Pay for San Francisco's $750 Million Tilting Tower?

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles ... nium-tower

The 58-story tower's shine faded on May 10, 2016, when Agabian attended a homeowners association meeting and was informed that the building had sunk 16 inches into the earth and tilted over 15 inches at its tip and 2 inches at the base, according to suits filed by residents and the city of San Francisco. “You can imagine how distressed we were to know that, for one, our lifetime investment and savings are at risk,” she said. “And we have no idea whether or not there’s a fix to it, and if there is a fix to it, what it will entail.”

The building, meanwhile, continues to sink.

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texasstar
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Re: The Leaning Tower of San Francisco

Postby texasstar » 01 Feb 2017 19:58

Is it conceivable this tower will have to be dismantled?

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tanzoak
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Re: The Leaning Tower of San Francisco

Postby tanzoak » 01 Feb 2017 23:33

texasstar wrote:Is it conceivable this tower will have to be dismantled?


Very very unlikely.

The sinking is merely an aesthetic issue for the entryways. All buildings in San Francisco sink, this one just sank more than expected. It doesn't affect the integrity of the building or its earthquake readiness.

The tilting, on the other hand, is potentially a problem. It's at 2 inches now.. if it gets to 6, that's when things start to get serious.

The HOA royally screwed up their handling of this situation. By making such a big and public stink about this, they made the units essentially unsellable.

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muncien
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Re: The Leaning Tower of San Francisco

Postby muncien » 02 Feb 2017 08:54

The truth is... The SF area hasn't experienced an earthquake of significant duration in a VERY LONG TIME. Loma Prieta quake was only about 17 seconds long if I'm not mistaken. I don't think anyone really knows how well these friction piers will behave in any significant seismic event. That soil instability gets magnified with the duration of the shaking, and a building that heavy will be like playing jenga on a waterbed. I wouldn't expect the building to topple over, but I wouldn't be surprised if it leaned to such a degree afterwards that it becomes uninhabitable.
"He doesn't know how to use the three seashells..."

Tnexster
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Re: The Leaning Tower of San Francisco

Postby Tnexster » 02 Feb 2017 16:10

I am not crazy about earthquakes but would really hate to be in a high-rise during an extended quake and especially not this one.

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tanzoak
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Re: The Leaning Tower of San Francisco

Postby tanzoak » 02 Feb 2017 19:02

Tnexster wrote:I am not crazy about earthquakes but would really hate to be in a high-rise during an extended quake and especially not this one.


Being in a high-rise is basically the safest place you can be, though.

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Dbrock
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Re: The Leaning Tower of San Francisco

Postby Dbrock » 22 Jul 2017 19:48

Wow, crazy. I would not be comfortable in that building.