A vertical fracture, Hillier St.
the building has been such that the building has collapsed without any obvious contributory external cause.
So, even to the expert, the decision as to whether a building is dangerous or not is an extremely difficult one to make, and brings with it a heavy burden of responsibility. A mistake in the assessment of the degree of danger inherent in such a building by minimising such danger can involve heavy loss of life, whereas over- estimating such danger will lead to unnecessary loss of homes and in some cases unnecessary loss of liveli- hood.
It is undoubtedly true to say that the stage has now been reached where the rate of deterioration of such old buildings is accelerating, and the people of Hong Kong must perforce reconcile themselves to the fact that to safeguard life and limb, positive action will have to be taken from time to time, and such dangerous buildings closed and demolished.
What of present day building? This is undoubtedly of a very much higher standard in every respect, but the problem of proper maintenance of the fabric of the building is still the same. One solution would be for Hong Kong Government to force building owners to adequately main- tain and redecorate the exterior of every new building, and allow the building owner to set all such external maintenance costs against income tax. Apparently the Dutch are allow- ed to set all external maintenance costs against income tax, and the result is for anyone to see who cares to visit Holland.
With regard to our old buildings, every shower of rain, every typhoon, every nearby demolition, every found- ation vibration or undermining, is, so to speak, "another nail in the coffin" of these buildings. This is not an alarmist view, but a sober, realistic, approach, to the immense problem that we as a community have in-
herited.
The old English saying is perhaps not inappropriate in connection with the response of the community to these dangerous buildings: "We have a nettle in our midst, and it is up to us to grasp it."
A example of the exposed rein- fored concrete found in many old
Hong Kong buildings.
THE HONG KONG & FAR FAST BUILIER-VOLUME 19, NUMBER 3
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