A near-collapse at the former Pfizer headquarters raised concerns about the office-to-housing project.
A scare at a Manhattan building project that prompted evacuations highlights the complexities of turning office buildings into housing, according to an Associated Press article.
Two steel columns inside the former Pfizer headquarters buckled as the two buildings undergo a major office-to-housing renovation, the article goes on. Engineers working on the site say the project is complex, but the setback should not make people doubt the promise of adaptive reuse.
The damage was likely caused by added weight from widening the top 15 floors of the building. According to structural engineer Emily Guglielmo, adding new floors requires reviewing original construction documents and inspecting buildings to determine how additional floors will impact the structure. According to Joshua Harris, director of Fordham University’s Real Estate Institute, the incident should serve as a "gut check" for the adaptive reuse industry to ensure that building retrofits are safe.
Read the full story: New York City construction scare highlights the challenges of converting offices into housing
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