YAGI STORM - A TEST FOR THE OVERALL CONSTRUCTION QUALITY OF CONDOMINIUMS.

The phenomenon of condominiums experiencing glass panel breakage, ceiling collapse, and railing damage during storms indicates issues with construction quality or problematic materials, according to experts.

During the landfall of the storm in the evening of September 7th, the northwest-facing apartment on the 29th floor, precisely at the corner position, belonging to Mr. Tran Hieu in the three-year-old handover condominium in Tay Mo Ward, Nam Tu Liem District, was subjected to continuous showers and howling winds. The windows kept shaking, water seeped through the frames and leaked into the house, prompting Mr. Hieu and his wife to try to prevent leakage by using towels and constantly wringing out water. Upon noticing small cracks on the glass door, Mr. Hieu applied adhesive tape and stuffed towels into the gaps to prevent the wind from shattering the door. After hours of struggling to secure their home, Mr. Hieu and his wife decided to take their young child down to the lobby due to concerns that a broken door could pose a safety hazard.

In a similar situation, Ms. Nguyen Nhung, a resident in a 30-story condominium in Ha Dong District, discovered cracks on the ceiling of the master bedroom and water seepage near the windows as the wind intensified to level 8 and gusts reached level 10 on the evening of September 7th. About an hour later, a loud crash occurred in the room. Ms. Nhung and her husband inspected the area and found that the entire gypsum wall had collapsed.

“Seeing the remaining pieces of gypsum hanging from the ceiling frame made me fearful. If we hadn’t thoroughly checked earlier, I don’t know what would have happened,” she said.

Nhiều cư dân tự chế hệ thống hứng nước để chống thấm, dột chung cư khi bão số 3 quét qua Hà Nội tối 7/9. Ảnh: NVCC

(Many residents made their own water collection systems to prevent water seepage and leakage in their apartments when storm No. 3 swept through Hanoi on the evening of September 7.)

Mr. Nguyen Quoc Hiep, Chairman of the Vietnam Association of Construction Contractors (VACC), stated that the objective cause of the phenomenon mentioned above is the intensity of the storm. Yagi is the strongest storm in Vietnam in the past 30 years. This is also a rare direct landfall of a storm in Hanoi, so it inevitably affects construction projects, especially high-rise buildings and residential areas that have been in operation for over a decade, with poor resistance to strong winds.

However, Chairman of VACC also observed that many newly-operated high-rise buildings, even those that have been in operation for only 4-6 years, experienced incidents such as “glass shattering, ceiling collapse, and damaged railings” when the storm passed through, indicating issues with construction quality or faulty equipment and materials. The lack of adherence to construction processes and irresponsible work practices in some projects falls under the responsibility of the contractors. Meanwhile, the input quality of equipment and materials, which is the responsibility of the investors, also plays a role.

“Besides the negative impact, Storm Yagi also serves as a test for the construction quality of buildings, especially high-rise residential complexes, in today’s urban areas,” Mr. Hiep acknowledged.

Một chung cư ở mặt đường Nguyễn Xiển, quận Hoàng Mai bị sập trần hành lang tầng 1, tối ngày 7/9. Ảnh: NVCC

(An apartment building on Nguyen Xien Street, Hoang Mai District, had its first floor hallway ceiling collapse on the evening of September 7.)

With the same viewpoint, Mr. Le Van Thinh, former Head of the Quality Management Department of Construction Works 1, State Appraisal Agency for Construction Quality, Ministry of Construction, stated that every building consists of foundation structure, load-bearing structure (columns, beams, floors, roofs, etc.), and envelope structure (wall paint, floor tiles, glass cladding, roof covering, etc.). Phenomena such as cracks, broken glass doors, collapsed glass walls, cracked walls, water leakage, and collapsed gypsum ceilings all fall under the category of envelope structure quality.

For example, in the case of water seeping through window frames or cracked glass facades, Mr. Thinh believes that it is due to inadequate installation during construction, poor quality materials, and unevenness between large assembled components. Experts analyze that the quality of glass walls depends on design, materials, installation (during construction phase), and conditions of use, maintenance, and material lifespan (during usage phase). The structural design unit must carefully calculate the quality of glass (thickness, number of layers, structure), especially how the glass walls or windows are connected to the load-bearing structure and surrounding envelope structure, so that the construction contractor can carry out the implementation.

However, some design units allow the construction contractor to choose materials themselves, “resulting in unreliable quality”. Not to mention, the construction phase also plays an important role because just one irresponsible completion step can easily damage glass doors when subjected to strong winds.

In addition, the current standards for glass wall testing still have gaps as they do not require testing of a 1:1 scale glass wall system. Mr. Thinh mentioned that this testing would assess the ability to withstand impact, fragmentation in areas with strong winds, air infiltration, water penetration under static or dynamic pressure, fire resistance, sound insulation, thermal insulation, etc. In reality, the criteria for evaluating material quality still vary among the investor, contractor, design consulting unit, and testing unit.

“The application of facade testing before construction is very necessary, especially impact resistance and fragmentation testing for structures in areas prone to storms and strong winds,” said Mr. Thinh.

(An apartment building in Bai Chay ward, Ha Long city had broken glass doors and collapsed railings after storm number 3.)

Many residents do not know how to reinforce and maintain their homes, which is a contributing factor to severe damage during major storms, according to architect Huynh Xuan Hai from Viet Design and Construction and Training Joint Stock Company. For example, when there is strong wind, many people do not know whether to close the windows tightly or leave them slightly open. The expert advises that the best way to protect living spaces is to seal all doors, including the main entrance and windows. For weak doors, residents can use plywood to reinforce them and prevent strong winds from entering the house, which can increase the internal pressure and cause furniture, glass doors, and balconies to break or be damaged.

Experts believe that natural disasters like this can change people’s perception of what makes a “beautiful apartment”. In the past, corner units with more glass walls and higher floors were often preferred and had higher selling prices compared to other units in the same building. However, corner apartments in some projects also have the disadvantage of being exposed to strong winds. Moreover, apartments with excessive use of glass walls are often not safe in situations like storms or earthquakes.

“When choosing to buy an apartment, buyers should balance aesthetic, functional, and safety factors. A good living space should not only be beautiful but also ensure reasonable safety for the residents,” said architect Huynh Xuan Hai.

According to the VNEXPRESS.

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