EASTERN VISAYAS STATES UNIVERSITY

Department of Civil Engineering

Lino Gonzaga Ave. Tacloban City

Interest: Abandoned Asia Pacific Building

Location: EVSU – Main Campus, Tacloban City
Date: August 3, 2022

I. Observation Report

On August 3, 2022, at 2:30 pm, the group designated for the observation of the
interest carried out a purposeful observation with the goal of identifying the existing
problems, their root causes, and any mistakes made during the project's construction.
Sagging beams and slabs, soil strength and capacity, moisture problems, misalignment
of columns, beams and walls, trusses that do not touch the walls, not fully welded trusses,
and other issues are present in the building. Asia Pacific building was supposed to be the
school's convention center. The real concern is whether it will be safe to use the building
for the stated purpose for which it was built, especially since we all know that convention
centers should be able to accommodate a large number of people inside. The
aforementioned issues will definitely have an impact on the functionality and capacity of
the building.

Given the complexities involved in construction, mistakes are unavoidable. Some of

these mistakes are beyond our control, but others are preventable but still happen
because small but critical details are oftentimes overlooked on the site. On the ground
floor of the building, the first two structures that are observed are the beams and slabs.
When looking at these structures, sags and uneven surfaces are noticeable. These
problems could have been caused by improper casting of concrete: improper formwork
installation and removal, excessive moisture, and failure to allow concrete to dry and cure
properly. Formworks are temporary molds into which concrete is poured and compressed
in accordance with the design. The concrete is kept here for a long duration until it has
completely cured. The time between the laying of the concrete in formwork and the
removal of formwork is referred to as the supporting period. After the concrete has
reached sufficient strength, the formwork is removed, a process known as formwork
striking time. According to IS: 456-2000, Section 11, concrete must achieve 85% of its
designed strength before interior formwork of slabs and beams with spans greater than
6m can be removed, which takes 21 days. If the formwork is removed too early, the sides
of the beams may bulge if the concrete has not hardened. Sides may also deviate from
plumb or line.

Another structure noticeable on the ground floor is the excavated grounds for column
footings, which contain water at a height nearly half the total height of the footing. Going
closer to the two holes at the farthest wall of the building from its entrance, the ground
floor slab is failing and showing some cracks. This had to do with the building's location
and the characteristics of the soil at that location. The Asia Pacific building is situated on
a sloping terrain. According to what can be seen in the ground holes, the soil there has a
poor drainage capacity and thus a high tendency to retain moisture. This could cause soil
shift and expansion, putting a lot of stress on foundations and making it unsuitable for
support. Furthermore, water could be adsorbed by minerals in the soil. Adsorption occurs
when an electronically polar water molecule attaches itself to the surface of a mineral.
When this happens, the surface frictional contact between mineral grains may be lost,
resulting in a loss of cohesion and, as a result, a reduction in soil strength (Nelson, 2013).
This could lead to slope failure, similar to what happened with the ground floor slab near
the footings stated previously.

On the right side of the building, a few open holes beside the columns could also be
seen. The situation is that they contain stagnant water, which can encourage the growth
of molds and other microorganisms. According to some articles, dry concrete should not
be left wet for an extended period of time because high temperatures and moist
environments create an ideal breeding site for mold, bacteria, and other organisms.
These organisms excrete acids, which can degrade the strength and integrity of building
materials.

Aside from stagnant water, a leaky roof and a lack of gutter are two other causes of
moisture problems in the building. Since Asia Pacific building has a single-pitched roof,
rainwater flows only in one direction. However, the lowest side of the roof is blocked by a
wall, so instead of flowing directly outside of the building, the water will be blocked by the
wall as well and will simply leak downward inside the building. The tears and cuts in the
roof sheets also cause water to drip inside the building.

Going upstairs, the misalignment of the wall with the column is the first thing that can
be noticed. Anyone who will notice the dead space on the right side will most likely wonder
what it is for. Walls should be aligned with the columns for support. Furthermore, the
walls on the second floor are not aligned to the beams. Beams are the ones that carry the
loads from the walls, so the walls should be aligned at the center on the beams. As much
as possible, beams, walls, and columns should intersect one another to allow for
balanced distribution of loads and to reduce bending moments in beams.

The trusses are the last structure being observed. The first concern is that it does not
come into contact with the wall, which is supposed to support the loads on and above it.
The non - uniform height of the walls contributes to this problem. The final point of concern
is improper truss fabrication. Angle bars are only partially welded rather than fully welded.
A roof truss is a joint-framed structure that serves as structural support for the roof. For
this reason, they must be constructed from strong, rigid, but lightweight materials such as
metal. Roof trusses owe their capacity to bear significant loads and pressure to structural
force members. These members provide resistance to tensional and compressional
forces, as well as shear and bending forces. Roof trusses, on the other hand, may fail
due to a variety of factors. Poor roof truss erection, installations by unskilled workers, the
use of inappropriate structural materials, and so on are among these factors. The above-
mentioned members were not properly welded in the trusses of Asia Pacific building. In
this case, the integrity of the roof structure cannot be guaranteed if it is acted on by
elements and strong forces.

Good construction quality is crucial and the result of an excellent team effort. However,
the harsh reality is that not everyone has control over the quality of their projects. Usually,
a project is undermined by a number of minor issues rather than one huge problem.
Sagging structures, saturated soil, moisture issues, misalignment of beams, columns, and
walls, and improper installation and fabrication of trusses are among the issues identified
in Asia Pacific building. Based on the observations made, the following issues can be
directly attributed to human factors such as poor workmanship and inadequate
supervision. To put it simply, the quality of construction works is directly related to how
they were handled. The existing problems could have been avoided if there had been
committed management and detailed monitoring of the project's progress, effective
communication, and collaboration among people involved in construction.

II. Documentation

Sagging Slabs and Beams Ground Floor Slab Slowly Failing

Toward the Footing

Stuck Water in the Ground Water Stuck at the Second

Holes Floor

The Side of the Building that Dead Space Between the

Supposed to Have a Gutter Wall and the Column
 Not fully welded trusses Wrinkled roof sheets

III. References

LCETED. (2021, May). “Removal of Concrete Formwork: Know the Correct Time |
calculations | specification”. https://www.lceted.com/2021/05/removal-of-concrete-
formwork-know.html?m=1

Nelson S. (2013, Dec 11). “Slope Stability, Triggering Events, Mass Movement
Hazards”. http://www2.tulane.edu/~sanelson/Natural_Disasters/slopestability.htm

Polygon’s North. (2010). “3 Ways Moisture Affects Concrete Strength”.

https://www.polygongroup.com/en-US/blog/3-ways-moisture-affects-concrete-strength/

Domodroof. (2021, July 28). “Importance of trusses”.

https://domodroof.com/importance-of-trusses/

Prepared by:

Baclayo, Niko Benito C.

Bahia, Joey Earl Roger
Ida, Sheena Mae
Jordan, Rica Kyla
Llurag, John Lyncel

Recommend Approval:

Millan Almar D. Estorninos, RCE, JD

IAEC Chairperson