Millennium Tower Quake Safety Questions Linger Despite New Building Support

[@michaelmarks1391]

In some distant day, when I have completely forgotten about this entire thing, I will see on the news that the long-awaited 8.0 earthquake has hit SF and the Millennium Tower has collapsed, killing a couple of thousand people and damaging three or four other buildings so badly that they now must be torn down. I will wonder to myself, "I wonder whatever happened to that engineer guy and all the city council people that allowed this." No doubt, the answer will be that they enjoyed a long, rich and wealthy retirement, and then died safely in their beds, warm and at peace, surrounded by their loved ones, not having though about the MT in years. After all, nothing more could have been done, right?

[@daynight7477]

Hit it on the nail. Exactly my thoughts.

[@Junksaint]

Just like mass shootings. We'll meet up every few months, see a bunch of people with families that loved them are gone, right wingers will block any change, and we can meet at the next one 👍

[@ryanbarker5217]

their names will live forever in infamy. they may skip out on any real repercussions in this lifetime, but history is quite possibly going to vilify them, and that's a burden their family will carry. i could imagine nothing worse than my legacy being of that.

[@ralphholiman7401]

And, it's going to be really hard for anyone responsible to say, "Well, I didn't see that coming."

[@leoverran311]

I think that 8.0 is coming way sooner then later

[@nz6241]

At this point, why would anyone trust what the Architect, City or the Construction Firm says about the repairs to the structure?

[@TheLIRRFrenchie...]

Guys take the L, and just tear it down!! I'd rather the city do that and deal with the embarrassment rather than people die.

[@bamhamer]

Never. Not if big money is involved

[@checkoutmyyoutubepage]

@@bamhamerand big egos.

[@mrcpaddler]

The problem with friction piles is that they lose their friction as soon as an earthquake hits. Where you have a structure with a significant load, it is always better to go down to bedrock - or engineer a foundation system that extends beyond the structure footprint.

[@johnnychang4233]

Can the piles being supported by the bedrock have a pogo stick effect during an earthquake due to being in an asymmetric configuration?

[@CharlieBam]

​@@johnnychang4233I agree that the plan to put piles to bedrock with only a portion of the foundation is very sketchy, SFs approach is laughable at this point

[@bernecomp]

@@CharlieBam It is my understanding that the reason they only did it on one side is that by stopping the sinking on the lowest side it will allow the other side to continue to sink until the building is level again. Then they will drop to piles to bedrock on the now corrected side. Just what I read somewhere.

[@averyvaliant]

I wonder just how much the lean is felt on the upper floors, at 29 inches, that's a massive lean. I'm amazed they haven't knocked it down and rebuilt it.

[@GH-oi2jf]

The displacement isn’t what matters, it is the inclination of surfaces which should be horizontal that matters.

[@BenjaminEsposti]

I lived in an old, old house, so old that not even the town has records of when it was built. If you put a marble, a ball, or set down anything round, it would roll. You don't really notice it much, otherwise. You _do_ notice the steep stairs, and the lower height of the ceilings and doors. It had small windows, because back then, glass was hard to make and thus expensive. The house was built on a stone foundation with hand hewn beams, connected with mortise-and-tenon w/locking pegs. (pre ~1850-1900 construction style). It's still standing, BTW. It was probably built like that! The Millennium tower, on the other hand... it's a disaster waiting to happen. I wouldn't live there, or even in the neighboring buildings, IMHO.

[@johnlozowski102]

Once you bring in experts with British accents to evaluate the problem. You know this thing is screwed up beyond any reasonable fix!

[@TVHouseHistorian]

😂 I was *just* thinking along those same lines! Somehow, the British accents make the story sound all the more ominous and foreboding.

[@bernecomp]

@@TVHouseHistorian They have to get experts with no dog in the fight.

[@randyosborne3971]

If they wait to long. No demolition company will take on the job because it is leaning to far to dismantle safely.

[@orion7741]

nah, they wont "dismantle" it anyways, they will do a controlled demolition of the building using explosives to implode it on itself. this is common practice for this type of situation, where they are removing a skyscraper sized building in the middle of the city.

[@7thsealord888]

I question if there are any means of demolition or dismantling that could be considered "safe" in this instance.

[@ropro9817]

Isn't the entire financial district in the liquifaction zone anyway?

[@And...ow3ch]

🎯

[@eleventy-seven]

Bedrock doesn't liquify. They sure screwed up.

[@tangobayus]

A lot of the flats are rubble from the big quake.

[@dough9512]

What happened after the last major earthquake and fire? They'll just rebuild 'cause it's such a nice location! And people do like to make money!

[@tangobayus]

@@dough9512 Now we have long-term decline of the downtown due to the lockdown. Nobody around here thinks it will come back for many years, if ever. The new urban model is decentralized, not concentrated.

[@MrBrownnn696]

TAKE IT DOWN!!!!!

[@stanharry3722]

They should just take the building down and save on future lawsuits..

[@GungaLaGunga]

What happens to 'friction piles' when the soil liquifies in the next earth quake???

[@dough9512]

I thought that liquid was next best to sand to build on!!

[@theboyboy91]

It will go down regardless of what they put😂

[@OofusTwillip]

I can't help thinking of Stockton Rush's cheap submersible, and his refusals to listen to industry experts who warned him his "brilliant" engineering would kill somebody.

[@mikegee729]

“At some point, safety just is pure waste,” Stockton told journalist David Pogue in an interview last year.

[@overseerofyahweh7811]

Even with the repairs, they are trying to cut cost. It's unbelievable in a "first world nation"

[@jking0.o121]

Greed.

[@johnanderson8096]

First ? Evolved Countries do NOT Let Their Citizens Own "WEAPONS of WAR".... FYI.... This happened in The USA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! PATHETIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@mikegee729]

It isn't First World. It's San Francisco, California.

[@carmentorres1426]

It would've been cheaper to buy a one level ranch house in the suburbs and safer in case of an earthquake

[@williamhaynes7089]

its all about location...

[@propblast82nd]

Don’t worry, the tower leans to the left like everything does in San Francisco.

[@jking0.o121]

Lmao

[@eleventy-seven]

According to a structural engineer, the three boxes that anchors the piling to the slab have a flaw in a metal anchor plate that is loaded to twice it's capacity. ! million pounds of force on the two pieces of metal that will anchor four rods to concrete. It will fail. The building will not topple but once it leans 40" sewage stops game over. It's at 29" and counting.

[@captiannemo1587]

I found it hilarious that those plates were not overbuilt to overkill and back considering the cost to do so is basically nothing. But these are the same guys who saved 3-4 million by not putting it on bedrock to start…

[@GH-oi2jf]

He has made an assertion, but it isn’t necessarily a correct one (I’m not taking a position). The fact is, the 18 piles have been installed and fully loaded. So far, nothing has broken. Keep in mind that those plates are buried deep in concrete. They must be considered in their actual environment, not apart from it.

[@mateotincopa751]

how could they approve a skyscraper like this without foundations on bedrock? especially in SF!!!

[@jking0.o121]

Grease some wheel$

[@TVHouseHistorian]

Put simply, the original plans called for a much lighter structure paired with a foundation that in theory, didn't need to go down to bedrock. However, due to the cost-prohibitive nature of the lighter materials, the original plans were scrapped in favor of a structure engineered with more traditional methods and heavier materials. The issue was that, even after it was decided to opt for the heavier structure, *no one* thought to update the foundation plans for the heavier structure, which dictated that the foundation go all the way to bedrock - which by the way, would have also added significant additional cost. My opinion is that economics trumped ethics in this situation. It doesn't take a structural engineer to understand that a *massively* heavier load design dictates the foundation go all the way to bedrock - especially given the nature of tectonics of the region. How this project, as it was, was given the go-ahead without any sort of challenge is completely baffling.

[@orion7741]

huh? dude, skyscrapers usually are NOT built on bedrock, unless the bedrock is close to the surface (150' down or less). the vast majority just pour massive amounts of concrete and build footings and reinforced foundations that will support the building. building directly onto bedrock is hardly ever ever done because you would have to dig a pit that is hundreds of feet deep, and that costs massive amounts of money and is not necessary at all when the building is designed properly.

[@leonardcollings7389]

Sure they are; Drilled piers, also known as drilled shafts or bored piles, are deep foundation elements that are constructed by excavating soil or rock to a designated depth and then filling the resulting hole with concrete, steel, or reinforced concrete. There are various types of drilled piers, each serving specific engineering and geotechnical purposes. For an additional 4 million dollars they could have had a bedrock bearing system in the MT building. Now they will likely have to tear down a 500,000 million dollar structure. Even the 10 foot thick grade beam is cupping and cracking. Under designed as the engineers thought a much lighter structural steel structure was being built rather than reinforced concrete( the heaviest building west of the Mississippi river)..@@orion7741

[@RADIUMGLASS]

Just imagine all of the deaths when this building tips over inside and outside.

[@michaelsullivan3581]

It's purty much a gigantic Jenga tower built one half on a large oak table and the other half on an upturned sofa cushion. What cold go wrong! There's no accounting for genius!

[@christopersambeli2823]

that is why you dont buy condo in an earthquake prone area

[@douginorlando6260]

People know about liquefaction under the foundation during an earth quake. But nobody actually tested how liquefaction changes when under a plate pressing down weighing thousands of tons. Does liquefaction begin with less shaking? And if liquifaction begins, does the liquified soil squirt out in seconds due to thousands of tons squeezing it?

[@lesliepropheter5040]

Interesting how the old bus terminal on Fremont St. That was rebuilt as the Salesforce Transit Center was allowed to get a rebuild around this Millennium Tower. Wasn’t Fremont street the place where “cracks in the critical support beams holding up the structure overhead” were found? 2.2 billion$ transit center based on an article published Oct 15, 2018 Can you please report on this coincidence and who was Mayor at the time?

[@Tony_417]

Your conspiracy theories must keep you busy and give you something to do at night. That and looking after your 10 cats

[@Awesome_Aasim]

They found the Millennium Tower was tilting even before construction was complete. The construction firm stayed silent about it until several years later.

[@christophermyers3758]

One moderate quake... and down she goes, taking about a thousand people with her! RIP to the condo tenants, the nearby SalesForce office workers, Transbay commuters, UPS/FEDEX/Amazon delivery people, street vendors, school bus with students, out of town tourists, and the homeless, who will all be CRUSHED AND KILLED at any time! 🥺🙏 Guess the CITY is willing to risk it all and not face reality? Or responsibilities? Pathetic... 😔

[@randyosborne3971]

There won't be a damn sole that will accept blame.

[@jking0.o121]

Typical, greedy, out of touch crooks.

[@bernecomp]

I wonder if it is true that they could have gone down to bedrock when first built for a mere $4,000,000?

[@advancetotabletop5328]

“San Francisco supervisor Aaron Peskin says yes. In early September, Peskin raised suspicion that city officials knew the building might sink before anyone moved in. - Business Insider, 2016.

[@tmuny1380]

"INCREASE SPEED TO 21 KNOTS THROUGH THE ICE FIELD"!

[@pwr-ultima]

They had one job. I hope they're no longer in business.

[@jking0.o121]

Guaranteed they are probably the top company. That's how this stupid shit works every time.

[@DashPar]

They need to call Josh Porter of Building Integrity in Florida!!

[@TVHouseHistorian]

I absolutely love him. I tuned in to his channel after the Surfside collapse.

[@DashPar]

@@TVHouseHistorian me too.

[@Irene94044]

How much did it sink after the rains

[@ericgeronimo833]

the leaning tower of frisco.

[@boyziggy]

What will the consequences be if the Millennium tower collapses? How many of the surrounding buildings will it take out, and what would be the responsibility of those involved? Because this building collapsing is a real risk, the cost of its collapse, including damage to the surrounding buildings and cleanup costs to the surrounding area should be calculated so that there is culpability. Not enough heads have rolled over this fiasco. What’s to stop it from happening again? We need to address why this was ever allowed to happen in the first place, and fix this major deficiency in our building approval process.

[@And...ow3ch]

🎯. My question is since the building is *so* close to the water if it collapsed, what would happen to the costal structures just across the Bay in Oakland & Emeryville? This has much farther reaching impacts than the building & its surrounding neighbors. Its collapse could potentially the other side of the Bay.

[@randyosborne3971]

If they wait too long. No demolition company will take on the job. It will be leaning to far to dismantle safely.

[@jking0.o121]

Good old greedy corrupt California at it again.

[@tangobayus]

I heard a famous football-related guy bought a unit for millions and spent more millions redecorating it. Also that many of the units were never occupied because "investors" bought them.

[@markdavis8888]

How could the unequal support of this botched repair be calculated? This is probably new geotech territory and they won't know until after the earthquake. Heads should have rolled a long time ago.

[@ShakespeareCafe]

The San Andreas woke up yesterday with a 4.0 in Millbrae

[@jeffgyro465]

Italy drilled under the high side of the Leaning Tower of Pisa removing soil to correct the lean.

[@jessegarcia8256]

Get out of that place it's going down, it's already leaning should be a sign. It's not going to work

[@williamhaynes7089]

The unit owners will have a hard time selling their properties

[@Heavy_Distortion]

Contractor gold mine. No end in sight. Brilliant.

[@beefwellington570]

Demolish it now!!

[@jasonsmith1143]

gooood luck !!! landfill

[@OldsmobileCutlassSupremeConver]

If only it was a little more balanced instead of to the left.

[@Ali-uf5du]

How much for a condo in there?

[@martentrudeau6948]

There are many concerned who have vested interests in the MT, who want it to succeed and are not concerned for public safety, lives and property, it all about money with them. This big heavy building that was built on sand, which was a very bad idea, should be torn down, it's dangerous and maybe impossible to fix.

[@7thsealord888]

Anywhere near this building in ANY kind of earthquake is not where I would choose to be.

[@GaryM-d6i]

If there's this much problems it's time for someone to fess up before there's a real disaster.

[@dudefuude7921]

"typical design practice" doesn't specify where. If it's nationwide, I would argue that NYC, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Denver, etc. don't have the seismic issues for their tall buildings and would tilt "typical" away from what SF / SD / LA face. It should also be noted that St. Louis / Memphis may not be a great example (IIRC older buildings overlooked that they are in the New Madris Fault Zone).

[@zeppelinkiddy]

Seems as a minimum the City should are quire a rerun the previously approved structural program that did the original earthquake analysis per the building codes at the time, but modify the parameters to reflect the revised foundation and expected worse case lean.

[@captiannemo1587]

“The Saga Continues” And that’s a wrap folks… You know everything you need to know with those first three words.

[@tedsmith6137]

Being "consistent with typical engineering design practice" may just mean that those design practices need to be reassessed and upgraded.

[@Aireck174]

They should just hire this David guy.

[@loganskiwyse7823]

Honestly, at this point. Tear it down. There is no fix that is going to make this building safe for anyone near it. Far too many errors have been made either to save/make money or avoid responsibility.

[@pilsudski36]

The water and sewage systems of the Millenium Tower are malfunctioning because the building is tilting. Evacuate the building, remove the contents, and dismatle the building,

[@k.chriscaldwell4141]

Tiiiiiiimbeeeerrrr!

[@jking0.o121]

Lmfao

[@Justrandomvideos-2023]

So if a quake hits the tower will fall and with san Francisco construction workers leaving due because of most businesses are leaving that building will "be fixed " and thats not the only building in the city that would fall in a earthquake

[@claycoates5056]

This is easy is it going to fall WHY yes it is just When and do you want to be there when it falls ?? Ill bet it is cheaper to start to take the building apart now when it falls it is going to be VERY costly

[@thomasjamison2050]

"Consistent with typical practices.' and we all know just how typical stresses from massive earthquakes are....

[@GH-oi2jf]

The new piles on the west side have arrested the progress of leaning.

[@prjugandoxd]

That building is indeed pretty! But, it was not well made… take responsibility and tear it down.

[@tstahler5420]

There's no fixing that building. It's now a dangerous situation, time to demolish it.

[@Ind0mitabl3]

Timber!!

[@orion7741]

Bottom line: The thing is going to come crashing down.... its crazy how far the greed and corruption in San Francisco has gotten.

[@carlmorgan8452]

No way I would live in or near that building

[@Ann-nr4tx]

No saving it. Sunk cost (no pun intended)

[@d.b.1176]

Hopefully they have video when it collapses.

[@Raptorman0909]

Any building can be destroyed if the earthquake is large enough so the question is -- how big of an earthquake would it take to cause the Millennium Tower collapse? My guess is that it would probably survive a MM6.5 but anything more than that and it's over and done with. Perhaps not instantly, but if the tilt is increased significantly, as can happen during an earthquake, then I think it might just collapse. A good test of this would be something like a MM5.5 to MM6 -- I would think the tower will remain standing, but the tilt could be increased substantially to the point where the building would need to be abandoned and intentionally demolished. In truth, I think the Millennium Tower will be intentionally demolished and perhaps by order of the city, state or, less likely, the federal government. NYC has their own stupid tilting tower that's never been completed and may never be completed.

[@user-gs6fq1jq8y]

They knew this was going to happen.. WHY did they let them build thre in the first place...

[@jking0.o121]

What a POS building.

[@alexalex13131]

I believe only a moderate quake would increase the tilt where evacuation will be necessary. i also would only believe those engineers who have no direct or indirect financial ties to the company or city of SF.

[@CharlieFlemingOriginal]

Of all the cities to build a building like this. Sorry to say that all of us who know so won't be appreciated saying we told you so. When did we really let stupid people get to galvanised in stupidity and protected from realistic reality that they endanger the rest of us? Is this building really going to be a surprise when it falls on an earthquake?

[@dustingrubbs8636]

This building is literally built on sand! And sand LIQUIFIES in an earthquake. Think about THAT!🤔🤷🏼‍♂️

[@RRaucina]

Hell, even the writers of the bible knew to build your house on rock.

[@jar407]

its fitting for san fran its bent

[@RADIUMGLASS]

If there is ever a terrorist plot or attack they will go for this building. It's such an easy target.

[@dougthomson5544]

For God’s sake, take a crew to the top floor and start tearing down the thing. It is a disaster and the sooner they stop wasting money on the thing the better. It was a big bloody oops that just needs to start over.

[@LBG-cf8gu]

schedanfreude

[@leonardcollings7389]

Quake safety must be an oxymoron.

[@ruthannherrera6420]

Hi ❤️ what doing have doctor appointment ☺️ missing to long. 8years

[@guangxidavidliu]

I only take 20 million dollars after tax consultation fee to fix their problem. Easy fix. Columbus and egg.

[@YNVNEone]

When they say, "It's safe" then you had better run.

[@pattycastillo8681]

Get refund back

[@williamhaynes7089]

many people bought their units for more than the orginal sales price, the people that sold them the unit (people like you or me) have lkong spend them money

[@MrChubib0]

just fcking use metric for measurements

[@wilsonbrown2175]

I wouldn't live in that building for all of the money in the world! It is not safe and it is built on debris from the 1906 earthquake. Liquefaction is bound to happen there. Barbara

[@trev9541]

A disaster waiting to happen

[@rustycarter8969]

A good earthquakes will bring down more buildings than just that one

[@asimismo6476]

😂😂😂

[@deborahriley1166]

I’m sorry, but this building has got to go!!! Poor design, poor outcome!! The “fix” actually made it worse!!! Architects seem to be getting their licenses from the crackerjack box😡🤨😡 Physics!!! Terrible decision from the beginning!!!!!😡

[@CObAlTtTttt]

Attached cable to the top the building all the way to the ground

[@asimismo6476]

Who build that . Some chinese x sure

[@asimismo6476]

Fake

[@giftedgreen2152]

San Francisco is the Turkey of the West.

[@RADIUMGLASS]

Iran.

[@susie154]

Japan knows how to build new skyscraper buildings that last even in 7+ earthquakes ! We need to learn from them!

[@christopersambeli2823]

bring a japanese engineer to fix the issue

[@montegobreeze8561]

THIS SHIT AGAIN 😂😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@thomaspick4123]

If New York engineers designed it, it is flawed. They know tee-tee. New Yorkers know how to write contracts that screw black musicians out of their publishing rights.

[@michaelmaluchnik2940]

Don't feel sorry for people who live in a highrise in a shoty building let alone in an earthquake prone area

[@cityman1111]

This is a major DUH, and the result will be demolished

[@YNVNEone]

Skyscrapers on the west coast. Not too re*tar*dead*