Not as well known is the fact that the building was settling more rapidly than “calculated” early on in its construction. This was noted by the Hancock Tower's neighbors, as the the Copley Plaza Hotel and the Trinity Episcopal Church began developing cracks in their foundations. It was determined that, as the Hancock Tower settled, it was “pulling” the adjacent structures down with it.
John Hancock Co. solved the first problem by buying the Copley Hotel. However, even John Hancock did not have the resources to buy the Episcopal Church. The problems continued until a bright engineer determined that the ground beneath the structure could be stabilized by freezing it in place, and a substantial portion of the sub-basements were dedicated to housing the same type of machinery that freezes the ice at the former Boston Garden.
Voila! The fix worked and the ground beneath the structure is permanently (or at least as long as John Hancock pays the electrical power bills) frozen. I am assuming that the tower in SF does not have this option available.
The fix worked and the ground beneath the structure is permanently frozen.
An interesting solution!
I would love to see how they placed the cooling coils in the surrounding earth without too much disturbance???
There were plans for a frost wall around the Fukushima Nuclear Accident ????
A fun read was the Plumbers union building their own hotel in Florida.
The plumbers were their own general contractor, could have worked? But did not.
The Diplomat Hotel engineering problems came very close to BANKRUPTING THE UNION.
Among the many problems, the building is situated on two large platforms. Early on an eagle-eyed worker notice a difference in height to the first completed platform and the forms for the second.
The decision was made to pour them at the same elevation.
A very bad idea. The actual plan was to allow for the settling of the platform.
To this day there is a seven-inch difference from one end of the building to the other.
Hanging doors must have been an experience.
Photo, looks level?
https://chmwarnick.com/portfolio/the-westin-diplomat-resort-spa/
This was well documented in an exciting engineering journal that I cannot find.