Collapse of the Space Building

The Space Building, located at Carrera 24 D # 10 E -120 in the city of Medellín, was built from 2006 until its completion in 2013.{{cite web |date=October 19, 2013 |publisher=Semana |title=El efecto del edificio Space |url=http://www.semana.com/nacion/articulo/debate-edificio-space/361588-3}}{{cite web |date=January 21, 2014 |publisher=El Espectador |title=Vivimos en una edificación que no garantizaba la vida |url=http://www.elespectador.com/noticias/nacional/vivimos-una-edificacion-no-garantizaba-vida-articulo-470079}}

The 6 stages (or towers) have different numbers of levels and basements from each other. Stage 6, the last one built, was the highest, with a total of 24 floors and 4 basements. The first stages had 2 and 3 basements.{{cite web |access-date=November 20, 2016 |archive-date=November 20, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161120153149/https://civil.uniandes.edu.co/Boletin/index.php/k2/item/33-conceptouniandes |date=2015 |publisher=Universidad de los Andes |title=El concepto de Uniandes sobre el caso Space |url=https://civil.uniandes.edu.co/Boletin/index.php/k2/item/33-conceptouniandes}}{{Cite web |last1=Caicedo |first1=Bernardo |last2=Alonso |first2=Eduardo |last3=Mendoza |first3=Cristhian C. |date=November 2, 2021 |title=The collapse of Space building |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/324843296 |access-date=September 20, 2024 |website=ResearchGate }}

The construction of the Space residential complex presented differential settlement problems which were addressed through interventions in the foundation in August 2013. Other structural problems were noted. In the morning hours of October 11, the day before the collapse, the inhabitants of the Space Building contacted the Disaster Risk Management Administrative Department (DAGRD) because a stage 6 column had failed. The entity observed the problems and structural failure of the column, therefore decided to evacuate stage 6 of the Space Building.{{cite web |date=October 11, 2013 |publisher=El Colombiano |title=En cinco días propietarios de edificio en El Poblado podrán volver a habitarlo: CDO |url=http://www.elcolombiano.com/historico/evacuan_edificio_en_el_poblado_por_emergencia_en_su_estructura-PYEC_264694}}

The CDO company decided to send crews of workers to stage 6 to repair the failure that had occurred.{{cite web |publisher=Noticias RCN |title=Hallan un quinto cuerpo entre los escombros del edificio Space |date=October 23, 2013 |url=http://www.noticiasrcn.com/nacional-regiones-centro/hallan-un-quinto-cuerpo-entre-los-escombros-del-edificio-space}} While they were working, the entire stage 6 collapsed on October 12, 2013, at 8:20 PM CST. The collapse left a total of 12 people dead.{{Cite web |last=Jiménez |first=Juan Diego Ortiz |date=October 12, 2023 |title=10 años de la caída del edificio Space: la herida aún no cierra y la última condena no se ha pagado |url=https://www.elcolombiano.com/medellin/10-anos-de-la-caida-del-edificio-space-en-el-poblado-medellin-BD22655004 |access-date=September 20, 2024 |website=www.elcolombiano.com |language=es-ES }}{{Cite news |date=September 23, 2014 |title=Medellin tower blocks demolished after collapse |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-29324660 |access-date=September 20, 2024 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB }}

File:Colapso edificio space Medellín porteria 01.JPG

After the collapse of stage 6, the entire building was evacuated. The Mayor's Office of Medellín hired the Universidad de los Andes to carry out the respective investigations to determine the most probable causes of the collapse of the portion of the building corresponding to stage 6, the collapse of stage 6 was mainly related to the lack of structural capacity of the columns of the Space Building. These, according to the study, were not able to withstand the normal loads to which they were subjected.{{Cite journal |last1=García |first1=Luis E. |last2=Sozen |first2=Mete A. |last3=Fiorato |first3=Anthony |last4=Yamín |first4=Luis E. |last5=Correal |first5=Juan F. |date=September 1, 2016 |title=An Insight into the Space Building Collapse |url=https://www.concrete.org/publications/internationalconcreteabstractsportal/m/details/id/51689322 |journal=Special Publication |language=English |volume=311 |pages=1–14 |doi=10.14359/51689322 |isbn=978-1-945487-24-8 }} According to the conclusions, if the building had been designed with all the requirements of Law 400 of '97, stage six would not have collapsed.{{cite web |author=Universidad de los Andes |date=October 3, 2014 |title=Concepto técnico en relación a las causas más probables del colapso del edificio Space |url=https://www.medellin.gov.co/irj/go/km/docs/pccdesign/SubportaldelCiudadano_2/PlandeDesarrollo_0_15/Noticias/Shared%20Content/Documentos/2014/Uniandes_Informe-Final-Fase3-SPACE-Resumen.pdf}}{{cite web |date=October 4, 2014 |title=Diseños estructurales fueron la causa del desplome del edificio Space |url=http://caracol.com.co/radio/2014/10/03/regional/1412338680_445425.html}}

On February 27, 2014, Tower 5 of the Space Building was demolished. On September 23, 2014, what remained of the apartment building was completely demolished after Tower 5 was demolished.

The event caused the housing minister at the time, Luis Felipe Henao, to create the law called Antispace to stop the construction of buildings that did not rigorously comply with the requirements of Law 400 of 1997.{{cite web |title=Presidente Santos sanciono ley anti-space |date=July 13, 2016 |url=http://www.noticiasrcn.com/nacional-pais/presidente-santos-sanciono-ley-anti-space}}

In April 2018, professors Luis Enrique García, Francisco Correal and Luis Eduardo Yamín received the ACI Design Award from the American Concrete Institute for the research results of the collapse of the Space Building.[https://uniandes.edu.co/es/noticias/desarrollo-regional/investigadores-de-los-andes-premiados-por-estudio-sobre-el-edificio-space Investigadores de Los Andes premiados por el American Concrete Institute]{{cite journal |access-date=February 26, 2022 |date=2016 |display-authors=etal |doi=10.14359/51689322 |first1=Luis E. |first2=Mete A. |last1=García |last2=Sozen |journal=ACI Symposium Publication |pages=1–14 |publication-date=September 1, 2016 |title=An Insight into the Space Building Collapse |url=https://www.concrete.org/publications/internationalconcreteabstractsportal/m/details/id/51689322 |volume=311 |isbn=978-1-945487-24-8}}

In parallel with the controlled demolition of the stages of the Space Building that did not collapse during the initial event in Tower 6, the National Professional Engineering Council (COPNIA) of Colombia carried out an investigation into those responsible for the design, review and construction of the building which After three and a half years and in the second instance, the following sanctions resulted:{{cite web |access-date=April 18, 2017 |author=Juan Diego Ortiz |language=es |publisher=Casa Editorial El Tiempo |title=Tres años después de tragedia del Space sancionan a ingenieros |date=April 18, 2017 |url=http://www.eltiempo.com/colombia/medellin/sanciones-para-ingenieros-del-edificio-space-en-medellin-79074}}{{cite web |access-date=April 18, 2017 |author=Santiago Cárdenas, Víctor Andrés Álvarez |language=es |publisher=El Colombiano |title=Cancelan matrícula profesional a ingenieros del edificio Space |date=April 18, 2017 |url=http://www.elcolombiano.com/antioquia/cancelan-matricula-profesional-a-ingenieros-del-edificio-space-XF6351617}}

• Structural designer (Jorge Aristizábal): Cancellation of professional registration for life.
• Structural reviewer (Edgar Ardila): Cancellation of professional registration for life.
• Builders of the building (María Cecilia Posada and Pablo Villegas): Suspension of professional registration between 20 and 22 months.
• Soil study (Bernardo Vieco): Suspension of professional registration for 6 months.

• Surfside condominium collapse, another apartment collapse in 2021
• Collapse of the World Trade Center, a series of skyscraper collapses in 2001

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Category:2013 in Colombia

Category:2010s disasters in Colombia

Category:Building and structure collapses in 2013

Category:Building and structure collapses in South America

Category:October 2013 in South America