b'Changes Are Coming. How WillYou Protect Your Aging Building?By Thomas Buffington, PESeveral months have passed since the tragic day of June amongstmorethan400localjurisdictionandstate24,2021inSurfside,Florida.Adaywhenmany agencies, which ultimately led to the adoption of a sin-FloridianswereinshocktohearandseeChamplain gle minimum standard code, the Florida Building Code,Towers South condomini- to be enforced statewide.umcollapseintheearly Closer to home, Dolphinmorninghoursandlater Towers Condominium inlearn of the loss of nearly Sarasotawasbuiltcirca100souls.Readingthe 1974andexperiencedanews of the collapse as I structuralcollapseonwas starting my day creat- June 24th of 2010 with-edagreatpauseinmy outwarning.The15-routine.Likesomany story condominium expe-others,myimmediate riencedcrackinginthereaction was to ask those transfer slab large enoughsimple questions of How to stick your entire handandWhy.Thesesimple thru,wallsbowedandquestionsthatledinto buckled,andinteriormorecomplexengineer- ! doors were impossible toing questions and theories Crack/Slab Failure in the Slab at Dolphin Towers Condominium. open.Ihadfirsthand! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !of the How and the Why. exposure to the extensiveThe investigation of the Champlain Tower South col- damage while being employed with Karins Engineering.lapse is still on-going and likely to be on-going for many KarinsEngineering,engineerofrecordforDolphinmonths and potentially for a couple of years. Towers Condominium, completed an analysis, shoringWill the investigation conclude to find one smoking and repair design, and construction documents to sal-gun or numerous causes ultimately leading to the demise vage the structure from complete collapse. The analysisof the structure? The impact of the investigations will of the Dolphin Towers Condominium was conducted tocertainlychangehowlocalmunicipalities,theFlorida formulate repair requirements; however, the analysis alsolegislature, insurance companies, engineers, and condo- exposedthattheas-builtconstructionoftheentireminiumboardsconductbusinessandmandatenew building lacked lateral strength to resist wind-shear stan-requirements as all major catastrophes should.A federal dards associated with hurricanes.DrugEnforcementAgencybuildingindowntown Ultimately,thecondominiumwasrestoredandMiamicollapsedin1974duetoerodedsteel. strengthened at a tune of nearly $9 million dollars and aThis collapse led to Miami enforcing a mandatory 40- process that took 5-years from the date of the failure.yearrecertificationprogram.ThestateofFlorida Florida is home to more condominium units thanrespondedtoa1981collapseofthe5-storyHarbour any other state in the country.Similar to ChamplainCay Condominium in Cocoa Beach while under con- Towers and Dolphin Towers, so many condominiumsstruction by creating Floridas Threshold Inspection Law. are over 30, 40, and 50 years old, which pre-date theThe aftermath of Hurricane Andrew in 1992 led to a 16- changes created by the State to construct and maintainmonthstudyofcodesbeingenforceddifferently safer structures.12 - Suncoast Review Winter 2021 ! www.SuncoastCAI.com! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !!'