ABSTRACT
Chapter 20 is on the lessons to be learned from construction failures. The theme of this chapter is that the lessons to be learned from construction failures are not confined to the technical quality of the engineering and construction, but include the contractual, organisational and managerial aspects of project execution. Unlike most construction disputes which, at their heart, are about money and who pays how much to whom, most of the public inquiries considered here had the further dimension that the construction failure resulted in significant (and sometimes substantial) loss of life. This should be a salutary reminder to construction law practitioners that the engineer’s “art of directing the great sources of power in nature for the use and convenience of man” in every project carries with it attendant execution risks which, if they materialise, can involve significant injury and loss of life. Failures of the R101 airship, Ronan Point apartments in London, Hartford Civic Centre in Connecticut, Hyatt Regency walkways in Kansas City, L’Ambience Plaza in Connecticut, the Burnaby Supermarket parking deck in British Colombia and the De la Concorde overpass in Canada are discussed.
