Malpractice ‘could have played a role’ in City University of Hong Kong roof collapse
City’s architects say green rooves still safe, despite grass-covered roof falling in on City University sports hall, injuring three people inside
Professional malpractice and a lack of quality government assurance mechanisms to avoid bad practices may be to blame for faulty green roof designs, not the concept of green roofing itself, an outspoken academic said yesterday.
Three people were injured on Friday afternoon when the rooftop of City University’s Tai Ho Multi-Purpose Hall, which has a grass-covered roof, fell in.
University of Hong Kong soil science and green roofing expert Professor Jim Chi-yung said it was too early to determine what may have caused the collapse, but pointed out that “regulatory vacuums” were prone to being exploited.
“A government promoting green rooves but failing to regulate quality and above all safety could amount to dereliction of responsibility,” Jim, a chair professor in geography, said.
Building plans for the sports hall revealed that the roof had a load-bearing capacity of just 15 pounds per square foot (73.23 kg/sq m).