Another collapsed building - time for more than stricter building standards?
With the recent spate of buildings collapsing around Malta, there has been a hiatus in new rules and regulations, seemingly - which, according to the various sectors involved, are ineffective, unenforced, and, according to the developers, causing extra costs and with the threat of a slowing down of the otherwise expanding construction industry.
There appear to be no clear directive of rules and regulations, with the various sectors involved the architects, the contractors, the owners, developers, project managers, all appearing to attempt to move responsibility tp other sectors. For one, to move the responsibility of site safety including all structural aspects by Site managers (STO’s), which may include recently qualified but inexperienced engineers. [1].
Malta currently has “no centralised building and construction regulations in line with those of other European Member States. The few that are in place are contradictory or obsolete and fall under the remit of over 22 public entities." [2]
This includes legislation that the construction industry urgently needs an immediate, more radical change including the setting up of a development council empowered to licence rock excavators and demolition contractors. These responsibilities are not currently regulated in any way, and anyone (whether qualified or not) can today take up contracts for such work”. [2]
If there are to be wide and sweeping changes in building legislation for the construction industry, why not go the extra length - an enforcement of the European CE standards for construction materials; and the introduction of amore holistic Green building Standard for at least new buildings, and, preferably, legislation to retrofit existing building stock.
Cumulatively, Malta’s existing building stock accounts for an estimated 94% that were constructed before the introduction of the Minimum Building Regulations in 2006 [3] This would help to explain perhaps the amount of collapsed buildings, for, in addition to new buildings be constructed with minimum standards, there are potentially floors being added to structurally unsound buildings to begin with, or with insufficient foundations that were built before 2006.
It is certainly time to review existing regulations and standards in the industry but it is also a good time to consolidate together with a strict, and enforceable, legislation that includes a Green building Standard that not only meets minimum building requirement but goes far further to combat new greener measures in order to combat carbon emissions for the future.
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