| Popis: |
The paper presents a study of the factors relating to the collapse of the Listowel hockey arena of 28 February 1959, in which nearly the entire roof of the 110 by 240 ft building fell in, resulting in eight deaths. The snow on the barrel-shaped roof was heavy along one side only. The main roof members were glued-laminated bow-string trusses of 110 ft span supported by rather high and slender masonry walls. An inquest revealed, as the main factors in the failure, the absence of engineering or architectural supervision during construction and poor workmanship in the glued-laminated truss chords. A number of lessons can be drawn from the tragedy relating to the preparation of plans for public assembly buildings by a registered professional architect or engineer, the approval of plans by a municipal or perhaps a higher authority, the use of building codes, and the examination of existing buildings. |
