About this episode
The tallest building in Missouri with a large atrium perfect for big bands and dancing, hosted a regular Tea Dance in the summer of 1981. When two walkways collapsed killing over a hundred people, the investigators found multiple fundamental design errors. We look at how assumptions, redrafting conventions and negligence led to an incident that has become the case study in how not to do civil structural design.With John Chidgey.This show is Podcasting 2.0 Enhanced
Create your own Credited Soundbite
Links of Interest:
Tea dance
Fast-track construction
Sheraton Kansas City Hotel at Crown Center
Hyatt Regency Walkway Collapse
Strength Requirements by Grades
All Thread Rod
Wide Flange Beam Dimensions Chart
Obituary for Jack D. Gillum
Hotel Horror from Kansas City History
The Engineer of Record and Design Responsibility
Engineering Analysis:
Investigation of the Kansas City Hyatt Regency Walkways Collapse (Link to PDF)
Understanding the Tragic Hyatt Regency Walkway Collapse
Hyatt Regency Walkway Collapse 1981
Hyatt Regency Walkway Collapse
The Hyatt Regency Disaster Revisited
Hyatt Regency Walkway Collapse
Ethics in Engineering Practice and Research by Caroline Whitbeck
