[溫哥華本地新聞] Quake concerns spread at Vancouver City Hall identified, relocating, employees, building, problems

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Quake concerns spread at Vancouver City Hall

West annex has similar problems to city hall’s east wing
Staff being moved from Vancouver city hall’s east wing because the wing is at risk of collapse in an earthquake are relocating to a building facing similar concerns.
Nearly 400 city hall employees will move to the city-owned west annex building at Cambie and 10th by 2014.
The east wing was identified as having a higher risk of collapse during a “relatively small earthquake,” according to an engineering report obtained by The Vancouver Sun through a freedom-of-information request.
However, the report also concluded the west annex, where Vancity is a tenant, was also at risk of collapse during a “moderate” earthquake.
The engineering firm that conducted the study, Glotman-Simpson, recommended fixing the seismic problems at both four-storey concrete buildings as a “highest priority.”
The city maintains the risk of collapse at the west annex is “significantly” lower than at the east wing.
City officials, however, concede they are planning seismic upgrades at the west annex, but don’t know when funding will be approved by council.
City employees will move into the west annex from the east wing before any upgrades are complete, according to Bill Aujla, the city’s general manager of real estate and facilities management.
“The risk is significantly reduced just by moving people into (the west annex). We’re really concerned about the risk in the east wing,” Aujla said Monday.
Although the decision to relocate staff and demolish the east wing was made in 2012, it did not become public until The Sun reported it two months ago.
The 73-page Glotman-Simpson report concluded the east side of the 43-year-old east wing has columns that could fail in a “relatively small earthquake,” which could potentially collapse the whole building.
“When the columns fail, the structure in the area collapses downward, which puts large forces on the remaining structure,” said the report prepared in May 2012.
Glotman-Simpson also noted other concerns in the east wing: problems with the configuration of walls on the north side that could lead to “sudden instability and collapse” in a moderate earthquake.
The column issue was also pinpointed in the 38-year-old west annex, where the area of concern is the parking levels.
“Precast (concrete) construction in the parking levels is known to have caused building collapse in previous earthquakes when the precast was constructed with minimal connections as it is in this building,” states the report.
“If the precast in the parking structure is dislodged by a moderate earthquake, then there will be a sudden loss of vertical support at the columns and all levels of the building would collapse downward suddenly into the basement,” the report added.

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Glotman-Simpson also noted the “limited strength” of the steel frame in the west annex could lead to an “unstable” condition in a moderate to strong earthquake. “The building could potentially drift sideways and collapse suddenly,” says the report.

Glotman-Simpson said the buildings could be upgraded to more modern seismic standards, noting they “are of a quality and finish that is suitable for retrofit.”

Upgrading the east wing to the highest seismic standard would cost about $4 million (not including contractor overhead and profit), according to the report. A lower seismic standard would cost $1.2 million to $1.8 million.

Aujla would not provide a cost estimate of the demolition of the east wing, but said it would be less than $4 million.

All cost figures for upgrading the west annex were blacked out in the report.

Aujla said it was too early to say how much an upgrade would cost, in part because it could include the removal of hazardous materials such as asbestos and lead.

He noted, however, that needed upgrades at the newer and “functionally better” west annex were less significant than those needed in the east wing.

Recently, the City of Vancouver has stepped up its efforts to assess the seismic stability of its more than 500 buildings.

In 2011, after major earthquakes hit Japan and New Zealand, Vancouver city council ordered a series of reports to be done as quickly as possible on how to capitalize on lessons coming out of the two countries.

At the time, Mayor Gregor Robinson called Vancouver “the most vulnerable city in Canada.”

A new study released three months ago says the Pacific coast has experienced 22 major earthquakes over the past 11,000 years and is due for another.

The Glotman-Simpson report noted, however, that people can potentially live their life without ever experiencing a major earthquake in their region.

“The relatively quiet period over the past 70-plus years leaves many people doubtful of their risk, while the risk continues to exist and grows every day,” noted the report. “The longer we go without a significant earthquake, the more likely a major earthquake will occur in the coming years.”

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The city’s West Annex building — also known as the Vancity building — has earthquake issues as well, according to a 2012 report done for the city and obtained through a Vancouver Sun access-to-information request. City employees who currently work in the east wing are slated to eventually move into the West Annex.

east wing of Vancouver city hall is slated to be demolished due to structural the case of an earthquake.