Stringent and uniform controls needed to ensure safety of green rooftops
Collapse at City University sports centre has revealed the ad hoc manner in which such structures are built and approved
In a rare accident that evokes images of disasters in third-world countries, a green rooftop at the City University’s sports centre collapsed last Friday. The scene does not square with Hong Kong’s image as an advanced city with high building safety standards. There seems to be a wider issue of compliance and monitoring. Given the prevalence of such greening features across the city, more stringent controls are needed to protect public safety.
It is sheer luck that only three people were slightly injured when the 1,400-square-metre structure came crashing down. Some students had already complained about falling building materials when taking the year-end exams in the centre earlier. The venue was to be used for athletic celebrations the day following the collapse. The outcome would have been unthinkable.
The university’s investigation led by an eight-member committee is the right response to the questions being asked. Who supervised the conversion of the decades-old structure into a vegetated rooftop? Did it involve structural alterations? And if so, why was it not submitted to the government for vetting?