TERRIBLY Built Structures

With all of the building and construction that’s happened in the last century or two, there are bound to be failures. Here we’ll take a look at places that weren’t entirely thought through, including a playground that burns and a bridge that was doomed from the start. With all of the advancements we’ve made, one would think these kinds of things wouldn’t happen, but they do, and luckily enough for your entertainment pleasure. Kick back, take a break, and take a gander at these TERRIBLY Built Structures!
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5. AON Center
Opened in 1973 and originally called the Standard Oil Building, this massive skyscraper is Chicago’s third-tallest building behind Willis Tower and Trump International Hotel and Tower. It stands 1,136 feet (346 meters) and is comprised of 83 floors. It opened to wide praise for its beauty, as designers elected to cover the external facade in Italian Carrara marble, which worked for a time. But then, in 1974, a chunk of the marble, which is much thinner than typical cladding materials, detached from the building. The slab crashed down onto the roof of the Prudential Centre next door and caused an investigation. It was then found that the marble slabs were bowing and cracking all over the building and the material was deemed unsuitable. The AON Center was then recladded in granite, which cost a whopping $80 million.
4. Kemper Arena
This next building first opened way back in 1976 and is an indoor stadium located in Kansas City, Kansas. It was well-received and loved and one of its more notable features was its trussed roof. Well, the inevitable happened in June of 1979, when a massive storm hit the city, and that beloved roof couldn’t take all the strain. The designed had been built to release rainwater very slowly to keep the nearby West Bottoms area from inundating, but the torrent proved too much and collected on the roof. The resulting pool of water caused the roof to sag until it finally failed and gave out. The bolts in the hangers from which the roof hung had also been miscalculated, and once one gave, they all gave and around one acre of it came tumbling down. After an investigation, the issues were all addressed and the stadium was reopened again within a year.
3. Tacoma Narrows Bridge
Built in Tacoma, Washington, and opened to the public on July 1, 1940, the Tacoma Narrows Bridge was an architectural disaster right from the very start. Upon opening it was the third longest suspension bridge in the entire world, which makes what happened to it that much more terrifying. It stood just four months before magnificently collapsing on November 7, 1940. The problem was that cheap girders were chosen for the project to keep costs down, and it was this frugality that ultimately doomed the structure. During construction, the bridge earned the nickname “Galloping Gertie” because before it was even opened, the structure swayed and swung significantly. November 7, 1940, provided 39.7 mph (64 kph) winds, which proved too much, and there is a video online of the thing swaying and rolling until it ultimately fails and falls into the water below. The failure did end up doing some good, though. It helped to boost research into the aerodynamics-aerolastics of bridges, which has wholly influenced the designs of subsequent long-span bridges.
2. Leaning Tower of Pisa
Yes, the Leaning Tower of Pisa. This bell tower is freestanding and is located in Pisa, Italy (go figure). This tower is hugely famous and is a must-see for tourists all over the world! You may recognize it from pictures where people appear to hold the tower up, or maybe photos of them kicking it over. Either way, the tower that’s situated directly behind the Cathedral of Pisa was not supposed to look like that initially. It was built back in the 12th century, and the tilt began mid-construction due to an inadequate foundation set into soil that was too soft to hold up the weight of the tower. Workers attempted to correct the tilt throughout construction; however, it only got worse by the time the structure was finished in the 14th century. It’s now semi-curved and banana-shaped, and over the centuries following, it tilts around 1mm more each year. This one obviously wasn’t thought through all the way!
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