Posted on 05/24/2004 1:23:53 PM PDT by Gamecock
PARIS (Reuters) - New cracks have appeared at a Paris airport terminal, a day after part of the roof collapsed, and the airport's head has vowed to tear the terminal down if an investigation finds it is unsafe.
Terminal 2E at Charles de Gaulle airport has been closed to passengers since Sunday's accident killed four people, but workers spotted the cracks as they cleared the rubble.
"A certain number of cracks were observed in a second zone that is identical in design to the area where the roof collapsed," Rene Brun, director of operations at the airport, told reporters on Monday.
"Given our concerns about what happened on Sunday and for precautionary reasons, we decided to evacuate it."
Concrete, metal and glass crashed down onto a waiting area in terminal 2E on Sunday morning, bringing down a large section of the long tube-like building at Paris' biggest airport -- minutes after passengers saw and heard cracks in the roof.
Permanent closure of the showcase building would be a big blow to the finances and image of operator Aeroports de Paris (ADP) as it prepares for partial privatisation, but ADP chairman Pierre Graff said safety was the top priority.
"If all the (structural) rings which make up this terminal are beyond repair, we will raze everything to the ground," he told Le Parisien newspaper in an interview. "We will take no risk in terms of safety."
Firemen said they had retrieved four bodies from the rubble, revising the death toll down from five. The search could last days and it was not clear if there were more bodies under the rubble, a fire brigade spokesman said.
FLGHTS AND PASSENGERS REDIRECTED
The futuristic terminal, used mainly by national carrier Air France, opened only 11 months ago and is intended eventually to handle 10 million passengers.
Covered by a domed roof perforated with small windows that bathe it in light, the terminal cost 750 million euros (502 million pounds) and was hailed as a triumph of engineering and design.
Its about 60 daily flights are being diverted to other terminals at the airport in Roissy, on the northeastern outskirts of Paris.
The collapse has raised questions about the design and construction, and whether the terminal was built too fast.
Hubert Fontanel, who oversaw construction of the terminal for ADP, declined to speculate on the reasons for the roof's collapse until a judicial investigation is complete.
He said that during construction, ADP had found cracks in some supporting pillars but they had been reinforced with carbon fibres. He denied construction had been rushed or that ADP opted for a futuristic cylindrical design without regard for safety.
"The design is avant garde but the building was conceived with the strictest technical requirements and is made of classic materials like cement," he said.
Architect Paul Andreu flew back from China where he is working on an opera house. "I can't explain what happened. I just don't understand it," he told L'Humanite newspaper.
Andreu and ADP said they adhered to all required security checks. They said the terminal's opening last year was delayed by just over a week because of problems such as electricity installations, which had nothing to do with the bigger structure.
Even so, shares in French construction firm Vinci, which helped build the terminal, ended down 1.9 percent on Monday.
Analysts said the accident dented ADP's image and could delay plans to partially privatise it in 2005. "This has to be a significant embarrassment," one said.
I remember reading about the mall walkway collapse. IIRC, the plans were unclear on how the walkway should be attached. Well, actually, I'm being gracious. The way the architect drew up the structure, it could not be built as shown, so the contractor improvised.
oops .... I thought this was a Paris Hilton thread and somebody had a picture of her crack. sorry....
Was there a planeload of German tourists nearby?
ba da bump.
IMHO, computer modeling is just another tool - not the be-all and end-all of design and engineering. It should be used in conjunction with hard-earned experience and common sense. Unfortunately, I think that many designers and architects,in their zeal to produce a magazine-cover design, will push the envelope too far for real-world contractors.
This isn't a new phenomenon. Just about every architect from Palladio to F.L. Wright to Frank Gehery has produced a design that looks wonderful but weathers, wears, and functions badly.
The photo reminds me of late-1980's era "Deconstructivist" architecture.
Deconstructed indeed.
Designed by socialists and built by Muslims. What else would one expect.
It is extraordinarily expensive to maintain your mistress and her children in Paris at an appropriate style of life. Even at the mid-levels of the fabled French bureaucracy, cars, apartments, private schools, and so on can be hard on the pay check.
For years, this was not a problem because there were friendship gifts from the Iraqi government, especially, those in the oil ministry. These were not bribes!! They were simply gifts without strings that allowed the commerce in oil to move smoothly despite the silly sanctions the US bulldozed through the UN.
The UNers also got free will gifts as New York is even more expensive than Paris. But, then along came Bush and prevented Saddam from making any more gifts. The income had to be replaced for the sake of her children and the easiest way was to skim on government contracts. The margins of safety in steel and concrete construction made this a pretty safe bet, nothing like the old story of paying for the wooden prop on the new aircraft carrier instead of the super-special steel the specs called for.
So, if Bush hadn't invaded Iraq, the terminal would have been built to blueprint and none of these brave Frenchpersons would have had to die.
Interesting, I seem to vaguely remember there were some supporting rods that were done in sections, rather than being all one piece, which contributed to the structure failing.
However, it seems to me that the builder should have known better than to "improvise."
Let me guess...
The design company will have a fire and none of the design records will survive.
I think the French build airport terminals about as good as they build aircraft carriers.
OK, how about, sabotage by Islamists. Based on the "demographics" of the employees I saw the last time I was at CDG (in the older section, thanyaverymuch...) I'd say that if I were to bet that among those with fairly non restricted security clearances there were AQ or allies thereof, I'd win the bet....
Okaaaay....
Yeah, the French aircraft carrier just tossed it's prop with no warning. At least the terminal had the decency to crack first.
France builds good products.
Gonna be a good week, when x whacks a homer in the first inning.
Designed by socialists and built by Muslims. What else would one expect.
Actually, the new French carrier had the flight-deck built TOO SHORT to accomodate their jets (this was a couple years ago...). Another embarassment in a list of many.
I've got a "crack" overheard in a Paris airport.
How many Frenchmen does it take to change a light bulb?
One.
He holds the bulb and all of Europe revolves around him.
Yes, I believe that is correct. The drawing showed a "wide spot" in the rod to support the walkway, which was technically impossible. The contractor used two rods side by side, which placed the lateral beam in double-shear rather than compression.
Disclaimer: My memory fails me sometimes.
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