Thai Engineering Association President Cites Three Potential Factors in Kenya Building Collapse

Key summary

Prof. Dr. Amorn Pimanmas, president of the Thai Structural Engineers Association and a professor at Kasetsart University's Faculty of Engineering, offered analysis on the partial collapse of an 18-story building under construction in Eastleigh, Nairobi, Kenya, on October 24. While the exact cause remains unknown, he identified the event as a vertical gravity collapse where the structure failed to support its own weight, causing a sequential failure starting from the lower levels and resulting in a pancake-style pile-up. He attributed this potential failure mode to three specific hypotheses: substandard construction materials such as concrete or reinforcing steel with strength below design specifications; design errors involving incorrect force analysis, calculation mistakes, or insufficient component sizing and reinforcement; and construction deviations where the building was erected beyond the number of floors permitted in official approvals. Prof. Dr. Amorn emphasized that these are conjectures intended to serve as a warning for high-rise construction, which he described as a hazardous undertaking requiring strict adherence to engineering principles, the use of quality materials, and oversight by qualified engineers.