“…All Beijing’s buildings have to be built to resist tremors of up to 8.0 magnitude, but 58 super-high structures will now be inspected again, after the 7.9 earthquake in Sichuan on May 12 which killed more than 70,000 people…”

By Nick Mulvenney
Source: Reuters

Beijing authorities are checking the earthquake resilience of China’s “Bird’s Nest” Olympic stadium and 57 other major structures in the wake of the Sichuan disaster, Xinhua news agency reported on Wednesday.

The Chinese capital has been a virtual building site for the last five years with hundreds of new skyscrapers springing up all over the city.

All Beijing’s buildings have to be built to resist tremors of up to 8.0 magnitude, but 58 super-high structures will now be inspected again, after the 7.9 earthquake in Sichuan on May 12 which killed more than 70,000 people.

“Many were designed by foreign designers who came from non-quake zones and lacked anti-quake design experience,” a Beijing Municipal Construction Committee official was quoted as saying.

“Some architecture plans are quite abnormal and beyond the existing design criteria,” he said.

Building standards have become a political issue since the Sichuan quake, with grieving parents of dead schoolchildren blaming government corruption and neglect for the collapse of schools, often as nearby apartments and offices stayed upright.

The 91,000-seat Bird’s Nest stadium, where the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics will be held on Aug. 8, was designed by Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron.

Another skyscraper being inspected is the groundbreaking building being constructed as the headquarters for state television (CCTV).

Designed by Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas, it has two huge towers that come together more than 200 metres above the ground.