https://www.scmp.com/rss/322672/feed Three people were injured on May 20, 2016, when the roof of City University’s Tai Ho Multi-Purpose Hall, which had been covered in grass, fell in on the institution's Kowloon Tong campus. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Nobody will be prosecuted over the collapse of a green roof at the City University of Hong Kong in May last year which injured three people, the government announced on Wednesday. In the final investigation report released by the Buildings Department, the government also confirmed that the university’s green roof did not require prior approval from the department under building rules, sparking calls to plug the loophole. City University of Hong Kong will demolish sports centre where roof caved... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/2096409/no-prosecutions-planned-over-collapse-city?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/2096409/no-prosecutions-planned-over-collapse-city?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 31 May 2017 15:04:20 +0000 City University will knock down a sports centre at which three people were injured last year when its green roof collapsed and build a 10- to 12-storey building with more facilities and an auditorium. “The building will be self-financed and we are in the progress of preparing a proposal to be tabled to the school’s governing council for discussion,” university president Way Kuo said on Thursday, although he did not reveal how much it would cost. The roof of the five-storey Hu Fa Kuang Sports... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/2071504/city-university-hong-kong-will-demolish-sports?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/2071504/city-university-hong-kong-will-demolish-sports?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 16 Feb 2017 13:30:00 +0000 The Buildings Department has identified 11 possible causes for a roof collapsing at a City University sports centre but says it is too early to draw conclusions or assign blame. A preliminary report published on Friday said one factor may have been the use of construction material that was not specified in the original design. One week after a CityU investigation committee released its findings, the Buildings Department issued a 10-page document updating the public on what it had done up until... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1976958/hong-kong-officials-identify-11-possible-causes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1976958/hong-kong-officials-identify-11-possible-causes?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 17 Jun 2016 13:34:14 +0000 A veteran surveyor named as the sole person in charge of City University’s greening project is expected to be held liable for the collapse of the roof at a sports centre last month, despite his repeated denial that he was involved in the work. But a CityU vice-president who oversaw the institution’s green roof projects will escape liability, prompting a member of the governing council to accuse top brass of dodging their moral obligations by offloading responsibility on technical... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1971899/surveyor-expected-be-held-liable-roof-collapse?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1971899/surveyor-expected-be-held-liable-roof-collapse?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 10 Jun 2016 13:31:54 +0000 The roof that collapsed at City University injuring three people last month was probably overloaded because of contractors relying on inaccurate and outdated data to add green features, an investigation committee has found. The committee released an 18-page report ­yesterday, redacting some parts due to privacy and legal concerns, recommending legal action against the contractor responsible and calling for three ­senior campus staff to be disciplined, as reported exclusively by the Post... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1971556/roof-collapse-city-university-blamed-wrong-loading?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1971556/roof-collapse-city-university-blamed-wrong-loading?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 10 Jun 2016 05:30:30 +0000 The contractor accused of overloading a green rooftop which collapsed at City University last month may be taken to court, while three senior campus staff are facing disciplinary action, the Post has learned. The action is recommended in an 18-page report by an investigation committee due to be unveiled by university president Professor Kuo Way on Friday morning. Roof collapse: City University of Hong Kong report calls for more experts to be named to campus office He will also announce the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/1971082/hong-kong-city-university-green-roof-collapse?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/1971082/hong-kong-city-university-green-roof-collapse?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 09 Jun 2016 16:30:15 +0000 An investigation committee set up by City University has called for reform of the Campus Development and Facilities Office in light of the collapse of a green roof on a sports centre last month. A source familiar with the committee’s work told the Post one of its recommendations was to recruit more structural and building engineering experts to the office, which looks after all the facilities on campus. The office is currently led by an electrical and mechanical engineer. Engineers fail to come... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1967044/roof-collapse-city-university-hong-kong-report?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1967044/roof-collapse-city-university-hong-kong-report?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 06 Jun 2016 08:42:02 +0000 The flurry of reports and commentary following the truly catastrophic collapse of a new green roof at City University focused, appropriately, on the apparent failure of the building approval system, which is supposed to protect us from man-made disasters. In all fairness, it has done very well in a city full of spindly towers, steep retaining walls and precariously suspended signage subjected to typhoon winds and torrential downpours. How green roofs became a “blind spot” – not just for our... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1963431/do-green-roofs-really-have-any-environmental-benefits-hong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1963431/do-green-roofs-really-have-any-environmental-benefits-hong?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 04 Jun 2016 03:02:07 +0000 A “layman’s manual” is being drafted to ease public fears over the safety of green roof projects following the collapse at City University last month. The group behind the plans, which includes professionals and environmentalists, hope it will avoid a mass removal of green spaces which have already been installed. Led by Chinese University associate professor Edward Yiu Chung-yim, the group has also called on the government to set up a taskforce so industry practitioners and building owners can... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1961912/laymans-manual-hong-kongs-green-roofs-hopes-allay?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1961912/laymans-manual-hong-kongs-green-roofs-hopes-allay?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 01 Jun 2016 12:56:30 +0000 The failure of three construction industry professionals to come forward and give information will not hinder efforts to find out what led to the collapse of the green rooftop at City University, the committee charged with investigating the incident said on Monday. Surveyor Kenneth Chan Jor-kin, structural engineer Tsang Yin-sang, and Sam Mak Kang-hoi, a shareholder in Sinoway Construction Engineering, which built the rooftop, were invited last week to assist with the investigations but did not... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1959776/engineers-fail-come-forward-city-university-hong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1959776/engineers-fail-come-forward-city-university-hong?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 30 May 2016 23:01:09 +0000 Three slabs of grass sit atop Polytechnic University’s Shaw Amenities Building. The vegetation, about 150 millimetres thick and enclosed by barriers, appears dishevelled after a bout of rain. Dark blotches of moisture stain the perimeter. The Hung Hom campus boasts eight such “green roofs”, five of them with Buildings Department approval. Three, including the one at the amenities centre, do not. Answers demanded over collapse of green roof at Hong Kong City University The question of whether or... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1958836/change-tack-hong-kong-debate-should-switch-green?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1958836/change-tack-hong-kong-debate-should-switch-green?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 29 May 2016 15:15:15 +0000 It was shortly after 2pm on a normal Friday afternoon when Fung Ping-yan was notified that water was leaking from the roof of the Hu Fa Kuang sports centre at City University’s Kowloon Tong campus. Accompanied by a colleague from the maintenance unit, the veteran security manager came across a frightening scene at the Chan Tai-ho multi-purpose hall on the fifth floor of the complex: water gushing from burst pipes and alarming sounds from all directions. He immediately sensed something was wrong.... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1957404/green-danger-how-trend-put-vegetation-hong-kongs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1957404/green-danger-how-trend-put-vegetation-hong-kongs?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 28 May 2016 08:45:00 +0000 The team investigating last week’s City University roof collapse has pinpointed about a dozen possible causes of the accident, but won’t be making them public until it reports next month. The nine-member investigation panel held its third meeting on Friday morning. Professor Paul Lam Kwan-sing, CityU’s vice-president, who chairs the panel, said members studied the rooftop garden’s design and the tendering process. The group also examinedenvironmental circumstances to determine the possible... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/1956347/hong-kong-investigation-team-shortlists-10?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/1956347/hong-kong-investigation-team-shortlists-10?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 May 2016 07:32:13 +0000 Green roofs should be categorised and reported as “minor works” projects to enhance their regulation in the city’s existing building safety framework, according to a local surveyors’ trade group. Former Institute of Surveyors president Vincent Ho Kui-yip said on Wednesday there was a need for a regulatory system that allowed the government to track green roofs in Hong Kong without making it so inconvenient that it would hinder their development. This comes amid lingering questions as to whether... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1954052/green-roofs-should-be-tracked-hong-kong-surveyors?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1954052/green-roofs-should-be-tracked-hong-kong-surveyors?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 25 May 2016 09:45:30 +0000 Chinese University ­announced plans to remove ­vegetation grown on six huts next to its sport field yesterday, as the Buildings ­Department issued a green roof safety guideline for primary and secondary schools. The university said in a ­statement yesterday that it was ­removing rooftop vegetation that was part of an “experiment” and was now considered useless. The statement came four days after a green roof at CityU ­collapsed, triggering city-wide concerns over the lack of ­supervision for... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1952707/chinese-university-hong-kong-remove-green-roofs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1952707/chinese-university-hong-kong-remove-green-roofs?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 May 2016 05:41:07 +0000 Little has been done by the government to come up with a set of clear guidelines for adding greenery to rooftops, despite being advised to do so nine years ago by its consultant, a study has revealed. Speaking to the Post, veteran urban designer Peter Cookson Smith, whose consulting firm Urbis had recommended the Architectural Services Department devise a set of “reliable standards” for building green roofs in a study carried out in 2007, said they should require approvals from the Buildings... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1952253/government-advised-tighten-green-roof-standards?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1952253/government-advised-tighten-green-roof-standards?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 May 2016 00:02:00 +0000 Quick thinking, fast action and “great fortune in the midst of misfortune” saved lives when a roof collapsed at City University’s Kowloon Tong campus last week, a security manager who had a narrow escape testified on Monday. Fung Ping-yan was sporting a bandaged head, dark glasses to hide an eye injury, and the little finger of his right hand in splints as he faced the media to talk about how he and a handful of people fled a sports hall as the green roof came crashing down on Friday. His... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1952254/i-sensed-roof-was-going-collapse-cityu-security?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1952254/i-sensed-roof-was-going-collapse-cityu-security?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 23 May 2016 15:37:15 +0000 The independence of a newly-formed panel, responsible for ­investigating last week’s roof ­collapse at City University, came into question ­yesterday for only including one member from ­outside the ­institution. Concerns were raised after the university’s vice-president Sunny Lee Wai-kwong withdrew from the committee, citing a possible conflict of interest, as the institution updated the membership of the eight-person team. Lee was in charge of CityU’s green roof projects, which earlier this... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1951528/questions-mount-over-city-university-roof-collapse?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1951528/questions-mount-over-city-university-roof-collapse?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 23 May 2016 05:41:02 +0000 An investigation by the Post has found that green roofs on the Baptist University campus might have breached building safety rules, raising concerns about the extent of the problem across the city’s educational institutions after Friday’s roof collapse at City University. While City University was busy with damage control after a huge green rooftop at its sports centre in Kowloon Tong came crashing down, injuring three people, Baptist University claimed on Saturday that it did not require... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/1951076/hong-kong-baptist-university-may-have-breached?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/1951076/hong-kong-baptist-university-may-have-breached?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 22 May 2016 15:30:15 +0000 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... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/1949955/malpractice-could-have-played-role-city?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/1949955/malpractice-could-have-played-role-city?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 21 May 2016 15:15:30 +0000 City University athletes were still in a state of shock on Saturday – one day after the rooftop collapsed at the venue where they were supposed to attend their annual celebration. Volleyball player Devin Chung Wai-sze was scheduled to join hundreds of other athletes at the Chan Tai Ho Multi-purpose Hall for the function, which had to be scrapped because of the incident. Dozens of other students who were also using the gym on Friday were affected. “We could have all been killed at the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/1949786/dark-day-hong-kongs-sports-community-narrowly?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/1949786/dark-day-hong-kongs-sports-community-narrowly?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 21 May 2016 11:41:42 +0000 The collapse of a huge green rooftop at City University’s Kowloon Tong campus prompted its management yesterday to start removing tonnes of soil and vegetation from other building tops, amid wider concerns about the risk of overloaded roofs at educational institutes across the city. Answers demanded over collapse of green roof at Hong Kong City University Experts linked the problem to a lack of government oversight, as universities and schools are left to carry out campus development internally... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/1949299/neighbouring-rooftop-garden-dismantled-after-city?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/1949299/neighbouring-rooftop-garden-dismantled-after-city?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 21 May 2016 05:15:30 +0000 The giant rooftop that collapsed at a City University sports centre and left three injured has highlighted the potential threat of adding rooftop vegetation, a novel way to fight the heat-island effect, to old buildings. The accident, which could have injured hundreds of people originally scheduled to attend a dinner event on Saturday night, also called into question the lack of government supervision of this kind of rooftop vegetation, which is promoted by the Environment Bureau. Rooftop... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1948827/misdirected-energy-hong-kong-city-university-roof-collapse-highlights?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1948827/misdirected-energy-hong-kong-city-university-roof-collapse-highlights?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 20 May 2016 13:53:16 +0000 Hong Kong’s education minister demanded a full report from City University after a giant, green rooftop at its Kowloon Tong campus collapsed without warning yesterday, injuring three people in a hall that was filled with hundreds of students taking an exam just a few days ago. The university set up a three-member committee to investigate what went wrong at its sports centre after Secretary for Education Ng Hak-kim ordered “a very detailed, comprehensive and urgent investigation of the whole... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1948572/answers-demanded-over-collapse-green-roof-hong-kong-city-university?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1948572/answers-demanded-over-collapse-green-roof-hong-kong-city-university?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 20 May 2016 07:30:15 +0000