“Acts of God”: The Symbolic and Technical Significance of Foundation Failures
Publication: Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities
Volume 10, Issue 1
Abstract
During the last century, our perspective on foundation failures has changed profoundly. No longer are they seen as “acts of God,” but rather as opportunities for investigation and analysis. Failure investigation and analysis has become a hallmark of the geotechnical engineering profession as a way to verify geotechnical knowledge and theory. The present paper examines two frequently investigated failures, the Leaning Tower of Pisa and the Transcona Grain Elevator, in order to ascertain why these case studies have been important in a technical sense to the profession. The second half of the paper examines how historical and traditional cultures have symbolically interpreted foundation failures in the structures they have built, and how they have tried to prevent these failures by developing and implementing various ritual practices, especially feng shui . Some anthropologists argue that people perform such rituals because they want to feel that they have some control over their environment; others argue that the only thing empowered by the ritual is the person or groups who control the practice of the ritual.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
1.
Allaire, A.(1916). “The failure and righting of a million-bushel grain elevator.”Trans., ASCE, 80, 799–832.
2.
Allen, Edward. (1985). Fundamentals of building construction . John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, N.Y.
3.
Anderson, J. G. C., and Trigg, C. F. (1976). Case-histories in engineering geology . Elek Science, London, England.
4.
Baracos, A. (1957). “The foundation failure of the Transcona Grain Elevator.”Engrg. J., Montreal, Quebec, Canada, 40(7), 973–977, 990.
5.
Bell, C. (1992). Ritual theory, ritual practice . Oxford Univ. Press, New York, N.Y.
6.
Bijker, W. E., Hughes, T. P., and Pinch, T., eds. (1987). The social construction of technology: new directions in the sociology and history of technology . MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass.
7.
Burdick, L. D. (1901). Foundation rites with some kindred ceremonies: a contribution to the study of beliefs, customs, and legends connected with buildings, locations, landmarks, etc. Abbey Press, New York, N.Y.
8.
Carper, K. L., ed. (1989). Forensic engineering . Elsevier, New York, N.Y.
9.
Casagrande, A. (1960). “Karl Terzaghi—his life and achievements.”From theory to practice in soil mechanics: selections from the writings of Karl Terzaghi. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, N.Y., 3–21.
10.
Chatwin, B. (1989). “The Chinese geomancer.”What am I doing here? Viking Penguin, New York, N.Y., 49–55.
11.
Chesson, E. (1985). “Failure investigations in undergraduate education.”Reducing failures of engineered facilities: proceedings of a workshop sponsored by the National Science Foundation and the American Society of Civil Engineers, ASCE, New York, N.Y., 84–89.
12.
Chua-Eoan, H. G. (1987). “How to keep the dragon happy.”Time, 129(June 22), 44.
13.
Coomaraswamy, A. K. (1977a). “The inverted tree.”Coomaraswamy. vol. I: traditional art and symbolism. Princeton Univ. Press, Princeton, N.J., 376–404.
14.
Coomaraswamy, A. K. (1977b). “The symbolism of the dome.”Coomaraswamy. vol. I: traditional art and symbolism. Princeton Univ. Press, Princeton, N.J., 415–464.
15.
Cowell, A. (1993). “Leaning tower losing just a tiny bit of tilt.”New York Times, New York, N.Y., CXLII(Oct. 28), A4.
16.
Eliade, M. (1959). The sacred and the profane: the nature of religion . Willard R. Trask, translator, Harcourt, Brace & World, New York, N.Y.
17.
Eliade, M. (1986). Briser le toit de la maison: créativité et ses symboles . Gallimard, Paris, France (in French).
18.
“Failure of the Transcona Grain Elevator.” (1913). Engrg. News, 70(19), 944–945.
19.
FitzSimons, N. (1986). “An historical perspective of failures in civil engineering works.”Forensic engineering: learning from failures, K. L. Carper, ed. ASCE, 38–45.
20.
Glynn, E. F. (1990). “Soil mechanics laboratory: a revised agenda.”Education and continuing development for the civil engineer: setting the agenda for the 90's and beyond, ASCE, New York, N.Y., 211–217.
21.
Goethe, J. W. (1971). Elective affinities . R. J. Hollingwood, translator, Penguin Books, Harmondsworth, U.K./New York, N.Y.
22.
Goethe, J. W. (1870). Faust: a tragedy . B. Taylor, translator, Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, Mass.
23.
Guénon, R. (1962). “La `pierre angulaire.”' Symboles fondamentaux de la science sacrée . Gallimard, Paris, France, 278–291 (in French).
24.
Herring, S. D. (1989). From the “Titanic” to the “Challenger”: an annotated bibliography on technological failures of the twentieth century . Garland Publ. Inc., New York, N.Y.
25.
Hornik, S. (1993). “In Hong Kong, the seductive lure of feng shui .”Smithsonian, 24(5), 70–75.
26.
Humpheson, C., Fitzpatrick, A. J., and Anderson, J. M. D. (1986). “The basements and substructure for the new headquarters for the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, Hong Kong.”Proc., Inst. of Civ. Engrs. (Part 1), London, England, 80(August), 851–883.
27.
“Inclinations of mortality.” (1989). The Economist, 313(7626), 100.
28.
Kérisel, J.(1975). “Old structures in relation to soil conditions.”Géotechnique, London, England, 25(3), 433–483.
29.
Kérisel, J. (1987). Down to earth. foundations past and present: the invisible art of the builder . A. A. Balkema, Rotterdam, The Netherlands/Boston, Mass.
30.
Lai, C-Y. D. (1974). “A feng shui model as a local index.”Annals, Assoc. of Am. Geographers, 64(4), 506–513.
31.
“The lean years.” (1994). The Economist, London, England, 333(7895), 57.
32.
Leonards, G. A.(1982). “Investigation of failures.”J. Geotech. Engrg. Div., ASCE, 108(2), 187–246.
33.
“Lowdown on the Tower.” (1994). The Washington Post, (Sept. 3), D3.
34.
Mahoney, M. (1994). “The real problem with DIA: feng shui experts perceive a host of bad vibrations.”The Denver Post, (Nov. 28), F1, F3.
35.
Malinowski, B. (1948). Magic, science and religion and other essays . Doubleday, New York, N.Y.
36.
Mark, R. (1990). Light, wind, and structure: the mystery of the master builders . MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass.
37.
Meehan, R. L. (1981). Getting sued and other tales of the engineering life . MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass.
38.
Mitchell, J. K., Vivatrat, V., and Lambe, T. W.(1977). “Foundation performance of Tower of Pisa.”J. Geotech. Engrg. Div., ASCE, 103(3), 227–247.
39.
Peck, R. B. (1981). “Case histories in soil mechanics.”Proc., 9th Int. Conf. on Soil Mech. Found. Engrg. Case History Vol. Tokyo, Japan, 1–14.
40.
Peck, R. B. (1985). “The last sixty years.”Proc., 11th Int. Conf. on Soil Mech. Found. Engrg.: Golden Jubilee Vol. A. A. Balkema, Rotterdam, The Netherlands/Boston, Mass., 123–133.
41.
Peck, R. B., and Bryant, F. G.(1953). “The bearing-capacity failure of the Transcona Elevator.”Géotechnique, London, England, 3(1), 201–208.
42.
Perrow, C. (1984). Normal accidents: living with high-risk technologies . Basic Books, New York, N.Y.
43.
Petroski, H. (1985). To engineer is human: the role of failure in successful design . St. Martin's Press, New York, N.Y.
44.
“Propping Up Pisa.” (1992). Popular Sci., 241(8), 27.
45.
Pryke, J. S. F. (1987). “Pisa: more inclination than time?”Civ. Engrg., London, England, (May), 10–15.
46.
Rethati, L. (1982). “Leaning of the Tower of Pisa and the geohydrology of the area.”Acta Technica, Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae, Budapest, Hungary, 95(1–4), 123–48.
47.
Richerche e studi sulle torre pendente di Pisa. (1971). 3 vols. Ministers Dei Lavori Public-Commissione per 1 consolidentamento della Tone pendente di Pisa, Rome, Italy (in Italian).
48.
“Righting a tilted grain elevator.” (1914). Engrg. News, 72(9), 464–468.
49.
Sartori, P. (1898). “Ueber das bauopfer.”Zeit. für ethnologie, Berliner Gesellschaft für Anthropologie, Ethnologie und Urgeschichte, Berlin, Germany, 30, 1–54 (in German).
50.
“Saving the Tower of Pisa.” (1991). Extrapolations, (Fall), 2–5.
51.
Skempton, A. W. (1948a). “The φ= 0 analysis for stability and its theoretical basis.”Proc., 2nd Int. Conf. on Soil Mech. Found. Engrg., G. Keesmaat, Haarlem, The Netherlands, Vol. 1, 72.
52.
Skempton, A. W. (1948b). “A study of the immediate triaxial on cohesive soils.”Proc., 2nd Int. Conf. on Soil Mech. Found. Engrg., G. Keesmaat, Haarlem, The Netherlands, Vol. 1, 192.
53.
Skempton, A. W. (1951). “The bearing capacity of clays.”Build. Res. Congr. Papers Presented in Div. I. Building Research Congress, London, England, 180–89.
54.
Skempton, A. W. (1985). “A history of soil properties, 1717–1927.”Proc., 11th Int. Conf. on Soil Mech. Found. Engrg.: Golden Jubilee Vol., A. A. Balkema, Rotterdam, The Netherlands/Boston, Mass., 95–121.
55.
Skempton, A. W., and Golder, H. Q. (1948a). “The angle of shearing resistance in cohesive soils for tests at constant water content.”Proc., 2nd Int. Conf. on Soil Mech. Found. Engrg., G. Keesmaat, Haarlem, The Netherlands, Vol. 1, 185.
56.
Skempton, A. W., and Golder, H. Q. (1948b). “Practical examples of the φ= 0 analysis of stability of clays.”Proc., 2nd Int. Conf. on Soil Mech. Found. Engrg., G. Keesmaat, Haarlem, The Netherlands, Vol. 2, 63.
57.
“Soil tests' veracity questioned: some Fairfax sites show shoddy work.” (1989). The Washington Post, (Feb. 9), D1, D5.
58.
Sowers, G. F.(1991). “The human factors in failures.”Civ. Engrg., ASCE, 60(3), 72–73.
59.
Spencer, C. B.(1953). “Leaning Tower of Pisa.”Engrg. News-Rec., 150(14), 40–43.
60.
Stevenson, M. S. (1920). “Occasional rites and ceremonies: building a new house.”The rites of the twice born. Oxford Univ. Press, London, England, 353–360.
61.
Terzaghi, K. (1925). Erdbaumechanik auf bodenphysikalischer Grundlage . Franz Deuticke, Vienna, Austria (in German).
62.
Terzaghi, K. (1934). “Die ursachen der schiefstellung des turmes von Pisa.”Der bauingenieur: zeitschrift für das gesamte bauwesen, Berlin, Germany, 15(1–2), 1–4 (in German).
63.
Terzaghi, K. (1936). “Relation between soil mechanics and foundation engineering.”Proc., 1st Int. Conf. on Soil Mech. Found. Engrg., Harvard Univ. Grad. School of Engrg., Cambridge, Mass., Vol. 3, 13–18.
64.
Terzaghi, K.(1939). “Soil mechanics—a new chapter in engineering science.”J. Inst. of Civ. Engrs., London, England, 12(7), 106–142.
65.
Terzaghi, K. (1951). “The influence of modern soil studies on the design and construction of foundations.”Build. Res. Congr. 1951, Princess Press, London, England, 139–145.
66.
Terzaghi, K., and Peck, R. (1948). Soil mechanics in engineering practice . John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, N.Y.
67.
“Uneasy in Pisa.” (1989). The Washington Post, (Dec. 10), C6.
68.
Walters, D. (1989). Feng shui: the Chinese art of designing a harmonious environment . Simon & Schuster, New York, N.Y.
69.
White, L. S.(1953). “Transcona Elevator failure: eye-witness account.”Géotechnique, London, England, 3, 209–214.
70.
Wilson, F.(1991). “The well-kept secret.”Blueprints, National Building Museum, 9(1), 6–7.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities
Volume 10 • Issue 1 • February 1996
Pages: 23 - 31
Copyright
Copyright © 1996 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Published online: Feb 1, 1996
Published in print: Feb 1996
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.