The collapse on Tuesday of a four-story apartment block on Alkminis Street in the Petralona district of Athens has shocked residents and prompted debate within Greece’s engineering community, with experienced civil engineers suggesting the disaster is unlikely to have occurred without serious failures during excavation work on an adjacent construction site. Experts also warn that the quality of local ground conditions is often overestimated.
While the official cause of the collapse has yet to be determined, several engineers interviewed by Kathimerini said the available evidence suggests that inadequate excavation support may have destabilized the neighboring building during work to construct the basement and foundations of a new development.
“Buildings do not simply collapse,” said Giannis Christakis, a civil engineer with 38 years’ experience. “Unfortunately, many things can go wrong in these cases. However, they must occur simultaneously to lead to such a result.”
In much of Athens, he explained, the continuous building system is used, meaning buildings occupy almost the entire plot and are constructed directly alongside neighboring properties. This leaves excavation crews working immediately beside existing structures.
