Bangkok: Experts have revealed that the State Audit Office building collapsed in a swift 8 seconds. Academics specializing in structural engineering have examined the building's collapse and identified critical issues that led to the rapid failure.
According to Thai News Agency, the analysis revealed that the elevator shaft, which serves as the backbone of the structure, was positioned close to the building's edge, resulting in a twisting motion during the collapse. Emeritus Professor Dr. Worasak Kanoknukulchai, a noted expert engineer from the Thai Royal Academy of Structural Engineers and professor emeritus at the Asian Institute of Technology, highlighted on his YouTube channel that the building experienced a 'pancake collapse'. He noted that properly designed tall buildings using standard materials typically have a low risk of such failures.
Initial observations post-collapse indicated the absence of the elevator shaft in the wreckage and raised questions about the concrete debris, which appeared to be detached from the steel. For a 30-story building to collapse in such a short time frame, the structural components such as columns and walls would need to fail almost simultaneously.
Another failure mechanism noted was the upper floors detaching from pillars and walls, causing them to fall in a domino effect. This led to a series of collapses, eventually bringing down the entire structure.
Notably, the elevator shaft's location near the edge rather than at the center of the building contributed to the twisting effect observed. During the collapse, the lowest floor's columns twisted, and the upper floors fell together without sequential impact, which explains why steel bars were found largely separated from the concrete debris.
