Home for elderly falls short on quake resistance
Written by Meenaa on Thursday, November 13th, 2008
Home for elderly falls short on quake resistance
The Yomiuri Shimbun
The quake resistance of a luxury care facility for the elderly in Tokyo falls more than 30 percent short of the criteria required to meet the Building Standards Law, according to inspections by the Tokyo metropolitan government.
The local government plans to order Radia Holdings Inc., formerly the Goodwill Group, to take appropriate measures, including repair work.
It is feared the facility, Barrington House Bajikoen, could collapse if a strong earthquake measuring more than upper 6 on the Japanese intensity scale hits the area.
Meanwhile, the Construction and Transport Ministry is to investigate the case, and reportedly is considering imposing an administrative punishment on those involved in the design and construction of the building.
The seven-story facility, which opened in May 2006, has 139 units. Currently, 63 people live in 47 of the units.
Details of the repair work will be decided by Radia Holdings based on instructions from the Tokyo metropolitan government, and it is possible residents will be forced to temporarily evacuate the facility during the repair work.
In May this year, metropolitan government inspections confirmed that the building deviated from the original plans on more than 700 points.
Checks were carried out by the Japan Building Equipment and Elevator Center Foundation (BEEC), which was charged with certifying the building’s design. In some cases, rebars–steel rods used to reinforce concrete–were thinner than stipulated in the plans, and there also were instances in which fewer rebars than required were used.
The metropolitan government subsequently conducted a fresh examination on the building’s earthquake resistance, and found that it fell short of legal standards by 32 percent.
According to the metropolitan government and the construction ministry, changes in the construction work were made without prior application to the BEEC.
The facility was designed by Kozo Keikaku Engineering Inc., and constructed by Tokyu Construction, both based in Tokyo.
(Nov. 13, 2008)
