Building Guardians：Beyond the Façade (2)

A nearly 50-year-old building suddenly collapsed completely. The accident took lives and made people lose their homes. Dealing with the emergency situations at site immediately is certainly important, but the best way to avoid the recurrence of the tragedy is to find out what caused the accident. The first step in the investigation of a building collapse incident is to find out how severe the structural damage of the building was before the collapse. The investigating officers must carefully analyse the rubble and the remaining structure of the building from a perspective of “architectural pathology”. However, as rocks piles up at the scene after the incident, to find out the truth from the chaos is a real challenge. Officers of the Buildings Department (Engineers / Surveyors) first collect and remove the rubble and other exhibits at the scene in the most rigorous manner, because the smallest mistake may destroy the important clues. Subsequently, they carry out different experiments, researches and simulations, including investigations on the damage situation of the steel bars at the bottom part of the building, so that the investigation is carried out in such a rigorous manner that it is comparable to that of a crime scene. In order to recover the truth of the incident layer by layer, in addition to physical evidence, the investigating officers also need witnesses. Apart from studying the investigation reports provided by the police, officers of the Buildings Department will also interview all the people involved in person, including the residents and those workers who are responsible for the maintenance work, so as to reconstruct the condition of the building before the incident through their statements.

Director: LAI Man-yi
Cast: YUEN Fu-Wah, CHEUNG Chung-chi, Li Yam-san, LUK Chun-Kong