Rotten Foundations Cause Building Collapse in Shanghai

http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/opinion/rotten-foundation-building-collapse-shanghai-18937.html

The 13-story building lies on its side. (Internet photo)

The gleaming new construction going up in Shanghai is often taken as a metaphor for the “new China.” But some residents of Shanghai might put a different spin on this common thought.

On June 27 at approximately 5:35 a.m. in Shanghai an almost completed 13-story apartment building that is part of the Lotus Riverside Court development simply toppled over. There was no earthquake or typhoon to cause this. The collapsed building was in one piece, but rested on its side. It looked like a toy a child had pushed over.

One worker died in the collapse.

 

As is often the case in today’s China, the bloggers are the best sources for what is really happening. Of course, China’s blogosphere is a virtual world filled with all kinds of characters—the noble and the selfless blog right beside the vicious and the corrupt. The regime keeps on retainer at a rate of pennies a blog a huge crew whose job is to push the official viewpoint. And there are the run of the mill fakes, cheats, and con artists.

But blogging gives the ordinary Chinese citizen a chance at dignity in a system designed to deny him any voice, and a chance to speak to the world, albeit anonymously, the truth he knows, in a system built on lies. Blogging is an act of revenge on corruption and tyranny that the individual otherwise feels powerless to confront.

The supporting columns bent or broke as the building fell. (Internet photo)

The hollow support columns (Internet photo)

In the case of the Lotus Riverside Court building collapse, some bloggers posted messages about a report on the Japanese News Network (NNN). The messages show screen shots of a TV report in which the chairman of the Japan Structural Consultants Association held a photo of the collapsed building.

According to the bloggers, the chairman said that judging from Japan’s standards, the posts of the building are “too few and too thin.” He is also quoted saying that, in Japan where there are frequent earthquakes, the posts would be around 2 meters (about 6.5 feet) in diameter; but those of the collapse building are about 50-60 centimeters (about 2 feet); in addition, those posts are all hollow, where they should be solid.

Bloggers who had worked in the construction industry explained the collapse at the Lotus Riverside Court by telling tales of putting up buildings with rebar that was far too thin and of using cement that was substandard. 

These stories, of course, were found to be true on May 12 2008, when the Sichuan earthquake leveled school buildings, likely killing thousands of school children (the regime has arrested grieving parents who have tried to make a comprehensive list of the dead, and the true, total death toll of school children remains unknown), while official government buildings survived the earthquake seemingly without a crack in them. The bloggers began referring to the “tofu waste” construction going up in China.

Other bloggers explained how this kind of building can be approved. After the construction begins, the building inspector is taken out for a big meal by the developers. Perhaps at the meal the inspector is slipped a red envelope with a little bit of cash, but the bribe is not the point. The inspector has to know who is behind the building project. The dinner invitation is an “offer he can’t refuse.”

The building simply toppled over, leaving a gap between the surrounding, identical structures. (Internet photo)

Broken foundation supports jut from the base of the fallen building. (Internet photo)

The Lotus Riverside Court is a development of 11 identical buildings, with move-in dates set for next May. The buyers of apartments in the non-collapsed buildings are protesting. They have a lot of money invested in apartments in which they may never live. The apartments sell for about US$2,100 per square meter (3.2 square feet), according to the Associated Press.

The developer claims that there is no problem with any of the other buildings in the complex, but scaffolding has appeared around each of them, apparently for inspectors to work from.

The news today is that measures are being taken against the developer and the contractor. This is always the way in today’s China—when corruption bursts into the open with a spectacular failure, someone is made to pay. But these very public investigations are for show and nothing fundamental changes.

This investigation will doubtless document how the foundations of the Lotus Riverside Court are rotten, but the real foundations of the collapse will not even be looked at.

In China, farmers often keep a separate patch of vegetables grown only for their family—they don’t want to eat the vegetables they ship to the market. Middle class families often import baby formula from relatives overseas—how can they trust that the baby formula labeled as coming from Australia is not in fact made in China?

Everyone in China seeks security. As individuals each seeks what is good for his or her own family. But they do so within a system of lies and corruption that has been built by the Chinese Communist Party. Until that

foundation is exposed and replaced, there will be no safe home for the residents of the Lotus Riverside Court, or anyone else in China.Additional reporting by Zhou Meihua

Soil conditions investigated as cause of Shanghai apartment building collapse

http://dcnonl.com/article/id34398

SHANGHAI

A nearly finished 13-story apartment building in Shanghai toppled over because of piles of dirt that were

excavated to build an underground parking garage, according to initial investigation results, experts say.

City officials vowed to pursue responsibility for the June 27 disaster, which killed one person and cast

doubt on the safety of the scores of other projects under way in this city of 20 million. But they admit they

were perplexed over how the building could have toppled over almost intact.

“When we arrived on the scene, we were very shook up. In my 46 years of work, I’ve never seen or heard

of such a thing,” said Jiang Huancheng, a prominent local engineer and professor at Shanghai’s Tongji

University.

The accident was an embarrassment for Shanghai, a showcase city of 20 million in the midst of a

construction boom as it prepares to host the 2010 World Expo.

Jiang and other officials told reporters their study showed the suburban building’s design and construction

conformed with safety regulations and that more analysis is needed to pinpoint the reason why it fell over

almost intact.

See: Chinese apartment buyers protest after collapse

There are differing opinions among the experts, but the main conclusion is that the cause is a tall pile of

dirt next to the building, they said.

“It’s clear that if there had been no pile of dirt, there would have been no problem,” said Fan Qingguo, an

engineer with state-run Shanghai Construction Group.

Other experts explained that dirt excavated for the garage may have compacted the soil, causing it to shift

and damage the building’s foundations so that it fell over. Heavy rains and cracks in a flood wall for a

nearby river also suggest problems with the soil on the site, they said.

Unusually aggressive reports by the state-controlled media have centred on possible collusion between the

property developer, the contractor and others supervising the work. Earlier this week, the government said

nine people were “under supervision” in connection with the investigation.

Officials in Shanghai’s Minhang district, the location of the “Lotus Riverside” apartment compound where

the building fell, will release results of their investigation into responsibility for the disaster later, said city

government spokesman Chen Qiwei.

“We absolutely must give society and the people a clear answer,” said Xie Liming, head of Shanghai’s

Work Safety Administration.DCN News Services

One killed in toppled apartment building in Shanghai 

http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90776/90882/6687756.html

Photo taken on June 27, 2009 shows the scene of a toppled building in Shanghai, China. A 13-storey building under construction in the "lotus riverside" neighborhood of

Minhang district fell down entirely early Saturday morning. The accident killed one person. The cause of the accident is under investigation. (Xinhua/Chen Fei)

The worker trapped in the toppled apartment building in Shanghai was pulled out dead, said rescuers on Saturday.

The man, surnamed Xiao, was 28 years old from the eastern Anhui province. He had gone into the building to fetch his tools before trying to jump out of the window when the accident happened, according to rescuers.

Fire fighters work at the scene of a toppled building in Shanghai, China, on June 27, 2009. A 13-storey building under construction in the "lotus riverside" neighborhood of

Minhang district fell down entirely early Saturday morning. The accident killed one person. The cause of the accident is under investigation. (Xinhua/Pei Xin)

The accident happened at about 6 a.m. Saturday, when a 13-storey building in the "lotus riverside" neighborhood of Minhang district which was under construction, fell down entirely.

Cause of the accident is under investigation.

Photo taken on June 27, 2009 shows the scene of a toppled building in Shanghai, China.

A 13-storey building under construction in the "lotus riverside" neighborhood of Minhang district fell down entirely early Saturday morning. The accident killed one

person. The cause of the accident is under investigation. (Xinhua/Chen Fei)

Source: Xinhua

[Berita+Foto] Apartemen Lotus Riverside Di Shanghai, China Roboh !30/06/2009Yep Tinggalkan komentar Go to comments

http://yepiye.wordpress.com/2009/06/30/beritafoto-apartemen-lotus-riverside-di-shanghai-china-roboh/

Sebuah apartemen berlantai 13 di kawasan elit, Lotus Riverside, Shanghai, China, mendadak ambruk, Sabtu (27/6) pagi sekitar jam 06.00 waktu setempat. Seorang pekerja diberitakan tewas dalam musibah itu.Gedung itu masih dalam tahap penyelesaian konstruksi sehingga belum ditempati penghuninya. Bangunan ambruk ke salah satu lahan kosong dan hanya menyisakan tiang-tiang pondasi. Beruntung, jarak bangunan di dekatnya jauh sehingga tidak sampai menghancurkan bangunan di sekitarnya.

Pekerja yang tewas itu bermarga Xiao, 28, asal Anhui, sebuah provinsi di China bagian Selatan. Saat bangunan mulai roboh, ia malah masuk ke dalam bangunan untuk mengambil peralatan miliknya yang tertinggal. Namun kurang cepat, ia tewas tertimbun reruntuhan.Atas kejadian itu, Wali Kota Shanghai Han Zheng segera memerintahkan aparatnya untuk melakukan penyelidikan secara tuntas kecelakaan itu. Pasalnya apartemen itu berada satu kompleks dengan delapan bangunan elit lainnya di kawasan Minhang, Shanghai.Ironisnya, apartemen yang roboh itu seharusnya akan diserahterimakan kepada pembelinya pada bulan Mei 2010. Lahan di apartemen itu dijual dengan harga yang cukup mahal, yakni 18.000 yuan atau sekitar Rp 26,7 juta per m2.

Namun banyak kalangan menduga robohnya apartemen lantaran kualitas material bangunan yang rendah. Padahal sektor properti di China berkembang pesat seiring pertumbuhan ekonomi China, serta untuk mengakomodasi pertambahan jumlah penduduk.

Shanghai Building Collapses, Nearly Intact

http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2009/06/29/shanghai-building-collapses-nearly-intact/

In the weekend’s bizarrest news, a nearly finished, newly constructed building in Shanghai toppled over,

killing one worker. As can be seen in the photo below, the 13-story apartment building collapsed with just enough room to escape what would have been a far more destructive domino effect involving other structures in the 11-building complex.

A building at the Lotus Riverside complex in Shanghai’s Minhang district collapsed, nearly intact, on Saturday morning (Imaginechina via AP Images)

The development, known as “Lotus Riverside,” has a total of 629 units, 489 of which have already been sold. Now buyers are clamoring to get their money back, and authorities are making efforts to reassure them. The assets of the project’s developer, Shanghai Meidu Property Development Co., have been frozen and the city officials said the developer’s ability to repay homebuyers was secure, according to a statement on the municipal government’s Web site (in Chinese). A hotline has been set up for Lotus Riverside buyers, and by Sunday afternoon, more than half of them had met with a group of lawyers and officials organized to help

them negotiate with the developer, according to the statement.

Meanwhile, the cause of the accident is under investigation and nine unidentified people from the developer, contractor and management company have been detained.

A representative of Shanghai Meidu could not be reached for comment.

The disaster could reveal some uncomfortable facts about lax construction practices in China, where buildings are put up in a hurry by largely unskilled migrant workers, and developers may be tempted to take shortcuts.

According to Shanghai Daily, initial investigations attribute the accident to the excavations for the construction of a garage under the collapsed building. Large quantities of earth were removed and dumped in a landfill next to a nearby creek; the weight of the earth caused the river bank to collapse, which, in turn, allowed water to seep into the ground, creating a muddy foundation for the building that toppled.

The South China Morning Post noted that the pilings used in the Lotus Riverside development, made of prestressed, precast concrete piles, are outlawed in Hong Kong because they aren’t strong enough to support the kind of ultra-high buildings that are common in Hong Kong. But in mainland China, they are often used because buildings there are typically much shorter (subscription required).

Quality problems have long plagued construction in China, though they seem to be more apparent in rural areas and smaller cities, not in major metropolises such as Shanghai and Beijing. When school buildings were flattened by last year’s massive Sichuan earthquake, a number of parents faulted shoddy construction for creating “tofu buildings” that fell while other nearby structures were able to withstand the impact of the quake. More recently, state media reported that several new dams along the Yellow River are in danger of collapse, a situation attributed to shoddy construction practices, embezzlement and unqualified workers.

–Sky Canaves

Collapse Of 13 Story Building in China

http://www.hoax-slayer.com/13-story-buliding-collapse-china.shtml

Subject: faulty foundation, lack of environmental assessment before construction

YES, IT IS A 13 STORY BUILDING LYING ON THE GROUND.

Anybody who bought a condo here sure has a problem.Talk about a collapsed market!

(1) An underground garage was being dug on the south side, to a depth of 4.6 meters.

(2) The excavated dirt was being piled up on the north side, to a height of 10 meters.

(3) The building experienced uneven lateral pressure from south and north.

(4) This resulted in a lateral pressure of 3,000 tonnes, which was greater than what the pilings could tolerate.

Thus the building toppled over in the southerly direction.

*First, the apartment building was constructed.*

Then the plan called for an underground garage to be dug out.The excavated soil was piled up on the other side of the building.

*Heavy rains resulted in water seeping into the ground.*

The building began to tiltThen it began to shift and the "hollow" concrete pilings were snapped due to the uneven lateral pressures

And thus was born the eighth wonder of the world.

If the buildings were closer together it would have resulted in a domino effect.

They built 13 stories on grade, with no basement, and tied it all down to hollow pilings with no rebar.

Brought to you by the same folks that make your kids' toys and want to build your car.Now that, folks, is a snafu. Don't you feel better now, that these are the folks manufacturing nearly EVERYTHING we buy and use today?

Detailed AnalysisThis widely circulated message describes the collapse of a thirteen story residential building in China and cites fundamental construction errors as the cause of the collapse. The message is illustrated with a series of photographs and diagrams depicting the doomed building and why the catastrophic collapse occurred.

The images are genuine and the description is factual. The collapse took place in Shanghai, China on 27th June 2009. A 1st July 2009 news report published in Chinese news outlet China Daily notes:

The under-construction building in the Lotus Riverside residential complex in Minhang district that fell on its side, almost intact, killing a construction worker on Saturday morning, had mud packed as high as 10 m to one side as builders dug to make an underground car park on the other.

A member of the team investigating the collapse, which angered some 500 homeowners of the still unoccupied complex, said: "No builder with basic construction knowledge should have made that error."A later China Daily report about the incident provides further details, explaining:Errors in construction procedure were the main cause of the 13-floor building toppling in Minhang District of Shanghai, local government officials said Friday at a press conference.

Workers piled excavated earth up to 10 meters high on the north side of the building at Lotus Riverside complex while digging a 4.6-meter underground garage at the south side of the building at the same time.

The pressure on both sides moved the foundations horizontally and they were unable to support the building, Huang Rong, director of the Shanghai Construction and Communication Commission, told a press conference.In the aftermath of the collapse, Chinese officials maintained that the other buildings under construction in the same complex were "seemingly unaffected". However, in spite of this reassurance, Huang Rong, director of Shanghai Urban Construction and Communications Commission, said that the safety of the other buildings could not be guaranteed until after a planned safety overhaul had been completed.

Chinese officials promised that those found responsible for the building collapse would be "severely penalized ". An April 2010 China Daily report indicates that this promise was certainly kept, noting:SHANGHAI - The two top shareholders of a real estate firm responsible for developing the Lotus Riverside residential complex, where a nearly complete building fell to its side last year, were sentenced to life in prison on Wednesday.

The Shanghai No 1 Intermediate People's Court convicted 52-year-old Que Jingde, the second largest shareholder of the Shanghai Meidu Real Estate, on one charge of graft, while finding Zhang Zhiqin, 51, the largest shareholder in the firm, guilty on counts of graft, embezzlement of corporate funds and causing a serious accident.

Zhang's personal assets worth 5 million yuan and Que's 2 million yuan were also ordered to be confiscated.Another report indicates that poor quality building work has been an ongoing concern in China for years. A six story apartment block in Hubei province also collapsed in 2009 due to poor construction techniques. And, again in 2009, a construction pit at a building site in Nanjing collapsed, causing series structural damage to nearby buildings.

K A M I S , 2 8 J A N U A R I 2 0 1 0

KEGAGALAN BANGUNAN

http://civilengineerbali.blogspot.com/2010/01/ya-ini-adalah-bangunan-12-lantai-di.html

YA, INI ADALAH BANGUNAN 12 LANTAI DI CHINA. TERGELETAK DI ATAS TANAH

Areal parkir bawah tanah sedang digali di sisi selatan sampai kedalaman 4.6 meter

Hasil galian di stok di sisi utara gedung sampai ketinggian 10 meter

Bangunan mengalami tekanan lateral yang tidak seimbang dari sisi selatan dan

utara

Hal ini menyebabkan tekanan lateral sebesar 3000 ton, yang mana melebihi

kemampuan tiang pancang menerima beban lateral sehingga bangunan bangunan

roboh kea rah selatan

1. Pertama, bangunan apartemen sudah selesai dibangun

2. Tuntutan perencanaan mengharuskan penggalian untuk areal parkir bawah tanah

3. Tanah hasil galian ditumpuk disisi lain gedung

4. Hujan lebat menyebabkan air meresap ke dalam tanah

5. Bangunan mulai bergeser dan tiang pancang mulai kelihatan

6. Menyebabkan tekanan kesamping yang tidak seimbang (stock pile hasil galian

disisi utara gedung merupakan beban tambahan yang besar, hal ini kelihatannya

tidak diperhatikan atau dilupakan)

7. Bangunan mulai miring

8. Jika jarak antar bangunan berdekatan, maka dapat menyebabkan efek domino

terhadap bangunan lainnya.

New construction safety rules for Shanghai

http://shanghaiist.com/2009/08/26/new_construction_safety_rules_for_s.php

As shameful PR fiascoes tend to do here, the collapse of a Minhang apartment building has now spawned a new set of regulations, to be implemented on October 1. These new construction rules will focus on safety and compel developers to check on the structural integrity, appearance, function and overall quality of apartments they build, according to Xinhua. Homeowners can refuse to pay for units that don't produce a certificate guaranteeing the quality of their apartments and authorities are allowed to hand out fines and create fault records for uncooperative developers. But people are already finding fault with the new rules - namely with the fact that developers are the ones in charge of policing themselves. As one real estate lawyer said, "How can people be their own judges? It is obviously problematic for developers to conduct quality checks on buildings that they constructed... Supervisors cannot be credible either because they are paid by the developers. The government should find an independent third-party."

Rumah Tahan Gempa, Solusi Bangunan Masa DepanTuesday, 04 January 2011 11:29 | Written by Restituta Ajeng Arjanti

Tim dosen dari Fakultas Teknik Sipil Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (ITS), Surabaya, menciptakan desain rumah tahan gempa. Solusi tempat tinggal bagi daerah rawan gempa ini selain dapat dibangun dengan cepat, juga berharga terjangkau.

Indonesia terletak di daerah rawan gempa karena dilalui tiga lempeng tektonik besar, yaitu lempeng Indo-Australia, Eurasia, dan lempeng Pasifik. Karena itu, bangunan-bangunan di Indonesia harus dirancang sedemikian rupa agar tahan terhadap guncangan gempa.

Menurut Ir. Tavio, M.S., Ph.D Head of Laboratory of Concrete and Building Material Fakultas Teknik Sipil ITS, kebanyakan rumah di Indonesia memang telah dirancang sesuai standar bangunan yang berlaku di Indonesia. Namun, standar ini belum cukup aman untuk diterapkan di beberapa wilayah di Tanah Air, khususnya di wilayah yang memiliki risiko gempa tinggi. Sebut saja Padang, Sumatera Utara, sebagai contohnya.

"Pembagian wilayah gempa (WG) di Indonesia ada enam," kata Tavio. "Mulai dari WG1 sampai WG6 seperti yang tercantum dalam Tata Cara Gempa kita yang berlaku saat ini, yakni SNI 03-1726-2002." Riset yang dia lakukan bersama rekan-rekannya disesuaikan dengan beban gempa terbesar dalam standar tersebut.

WG1 memiliki risiko gempa paling kecil sedangkan WG6 memiliki risiko yang paling tinggi. Contoh daerah yang masuk dalam WG1, kata Tavio, adalah Kalimantan.

Tahan Goncangan 7,5 SR

Rumah rancangan Tavio dan timnya mampu menahan percepatan tanah sekitar 0,3g, atau guncangan gempa di kisaran 7,5 Skala Richter (SR). Pengembangan desainnya membutuhkan waktu kurang lebih satu tahun.

Hingga kini, mereka masih terus melakukan riset untuk mengoptimalkan desain mereka itu, baik dari segi mutu, biaya, waktu, kemudahan pelaksanaan, serta keawetannya.

"Sebenarnya, permasalahannya adalah dari segi biaya. Bila ingin rumah yang lebih tahan lagi terhadap gempa, maka biaya untuk pendetailan rumah itu akan dibuat lebih khusus dengan biaya yang lebih mahal," katanya. Pendetailan ini, menurutnya, meliputi setiap komponen struktur bangunan, termasuk material yang digunakan serta tulangan bajanya.

Pilihan Terbaik: Beton Pracetak

Tavio dan timnya merancang desain rumah tahan gempa menggunakan beton pracetak. Apa alasannya?

"Beton pracetak mempunyai banyak keunggulan," jawab Tavio. Bahan ini cepat untuk dibangun menjadi rumah dan mutunya lebih terkendali karena dibuat melalui pabrikasi. Jika material ini diproduksi secara massal, harganya tentu bisa menjadi lebih murah.

Bukan itu saja, beton pracetak juga mudah dikirim dari satu lokasi ke lokasi lainnya. Hal itu, menurut Tavio, akan sangat membantu dalam penyediaan pemukiman bagi penduduk dalam tempo singkat. "Dan yang lebih penting lagi adalah, beton mempunyai nilai ekonomis dalam perawatan―tidak seperti baja yang mudah korosi kalau perawatannya tidak dilakukan secara baik dan berkala," imbuhnya.

Tavio juga menilai beton pracetak jauh lebih baik ketimbang kayu atau beton cor. Apa pasal? "Kayu punya masalah dengan keawetan terhadap cuaca. Kayu mudah lapuk dan rusak, serta rentan terhadap serangan rayap," kata dia. Selain itu, membangun rumah secara massal menggunakan kayu sangat tidak ramah lingkungan serta bisa menjurus pada masalah illegal logging dan kesulitan dalam hal rehabilitasi hutan.

Beton cor memang bisa dipilih untuk membangun rumah yang kuat. Tetapi sayang, pembangunan rumah dengan beton cor tidak bisa dilakukan dengan cepat karena harus menunggu proses pengerasannya. "Di lokasi pembangunan, bahan yang diperlukan juga akan sangat banyak dan ada yang terbuang," kata Tavio. Satu lagi kekurangannya, pembangunan massal bisa saja menurunkan mutu beton yang dipakai.

"Pembangunan massal akan menurunkan mutu beton karena kontrol kualitasnya menjadi lebih sulit. Selain itu, butuh biaya yang lebih besar untuk pembuatan bahan maupun pengecorannya di lapangan," paparnya.

Kuat Meskipun Murah

Rumah tahan gempa yang dirancang oleh tim dari ITS ini terbilang murah. Rumah tipe 36 dengan satu lantai dapat dihargai Rp50 juta. Sementara rumah tipe 36 yang dibangun dengan dua lantai berharga Rp90

juta. Hebatnya, bangunan tempat tinggal ini dapat dibangun hanya dalam tiga hingga empat hari saja. Bagaimana bisa begitu?

"Ya, karena menggunakan konstruksi pracetak, jadi bangunannya semacam knockdown. Semua komponen dan sambungannya sudah difabrikasi dengan mutu yang terjamin dan siap dikirim ke lapangan sesuai dengan modul rumah tertentu," papar Tavio.

Menurutnya, semua komponen rumah sudah bisa diproduksi di pabrik menggunakan modul tertentu. "Cetakan juga sudah tersedia dan bisa diproduksi massal, seperti cetakan kue untuk setiap jenis kue dan bisa dipakai berulang-ulang."

Sebuah rumah membutuhkan satu set komponen struktur dan sambungan. Di lapangan, komponen-komponen dan sambungan itu tinggal dirakit sesuai dengan petunjuknya. "Petunjuk tahap-demi-tahap sudah tersedia lengkap, sehingga di lapangan tak diperlukan insinyur," kata Tavio. Pembangunan rumah cukup diawasi oleh orang yang mengerti cara membaca gambar dan petunjuk instalasinya, serta tukang atau buruh yang kuat. Karena itulah biaya pembangunan rumah ini menjadi sangat murah.

"Ingat, sistem ini akan sangat ekonomis bila dilakukan secara massal. Semakin banyak akan semakin murah dan cepat dalam sekali pembangunan," imbuh Tavio.

Bisa untuk Bangunan Tingkat Tinggi

Tavio dan timnya berencana untuk mematenkan desain rumah mereka. Mereka pun berupaya untuk menarik perhatian pihak industri konstruksi atau pengembang properti di Tanah Air.

"Kami harap, pihak industri konstruksi atau pengembang properti, terutama pemerintah melalui Ristek dan Dikti, melirik dan tahu tentang usaha yang telah kami rintis ini," tutur Tavio. Menurutnya, tanpa dukungan mereka, riset ini akan berjalan sangat pelan lantaran keterbatasan biaya, peralatan uji, literatur, serta banyak hal lainnya.

Apakah desain ini dapat dikembangkan untuk pembangunan gedung tempat tinggal yang tinggi, seperti apartemen, atau rumah susun? "Ya tentu saja, riset juga sedang kami rintis masih awal untuk bangunan bertingkat sederhana sekitar 4 tingkat," jawab Tavio. Empat lantai adalah batas maksimum bangunan  tinggi tanpa lift. Artinya, desain rancangan ITS ini bisa juga memenuhi kebutuhan akan rusunawa dan rusunami yang tahan gempa.

Lebih Baik Mencegah

Indonesia sudah memiliki cukup banyak pengalaman pahit terkait gempa dan risikonya. Gempa yang terjadi di Padang, Sumatera Barat beberapa waktu lalu hanya salah satu contohnya. Akibat gempat tersebut, ratusan jiwa melayang serta banyak bangunan roboh dan rusak parah.

Untuk menghindari terjadinya hal serupa, antisipasi perlu dilakukan. "Penyediaan rumah dan bangunan tahan gempa sebaiknya dan sudah seharusnya dilakukan sebelum bencana terjadi. Bukankah lebih baik mencegah daripada mengobati? Karena mencegah akan jauh lebih murah daripada mengobati," tegas Tavio. Dia berharap bangunan tahan gempa bisa menjadi prioritas di Indonesia.

"Yang terpenting adalah, masyarakat di Tanah Air bisa merasakan kehadiran rumah ini sebagai simbol dari karya bangsa sendiri, yang akan membawa perubahan pada kesejahteraan bangsa kita," pungkasnya. "Kita tahu, knowledge is very powerful power, but knowledge only is never enough. It must be implemented in real world." (Oleh:Restituta Ajeng Arjanti)

Ilustrasi: storage-science.blogspot.com

http://leadershipqb.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1005%3Arumah-tahan-gempa-solusi-bangunan-masa-depan&catid=56%3Aartikel-inovasi&Itemid=66