#13: Lotus Riverside Block 7 – Shanghai (2009)
Few structural failures have produced photographs as surreal as the collapse of Block 7 at Shanghai’s Lotus Riverside apartment development. In June 2009, the nearly completed 13-story building toppled sideways almost intact, leaving its rectangular structure lying horizontally while exposed foundation piles protruded from its base. Investigators linked the extraordinary failure to excavation for an underground garage combined with large quantities of excavated soil being piled nearby. That combination altered ground pressures around the building, while the collapse of a neighboring riverbank allowed water to enter and further destabilize the soil surrounding the foundation. One worker was killed, and the accident triggered extensive investigations into construction practices and oversight across the development. Unlike a conventional retrofit, there was obviously no realistic way to return the fallen building to service, making removal and corrective work around the remaining development necessary.
