We've heard much about climate change and how the melting of the various northern and southern ice caps will raise sea levels which will then inundate coastal cities and displace thousands of people. Then some activity must take place to arrest the progress of this disaster. Something is being done.
The tallest residential structure south of New York City is under construction at 300 Biscayne Blvd., Miami, FL, a city about 6 feet above sea level and a leading candidate for disappearance beneath the waves in the near future.
The building is the Waldorf Astoria residential tower, a combined hotel and condominium complex that will eventually rise over 1000 ft. and 100 stories above the city and Biscayne Bay. Experimental techniques have been used in the design and construction of the tower's foundation, a problem with the water-saturated limestone in that location. Since hurricanes can be expected on the Florida coast, the design incorporates details that will enable the Waldorf to withstand winds of up to 200 knots. One of these details is a tuned mass damper in the upper part of the structure, something like a pendulum, which is meant to eliminate the swaying that would otherwise occur in exposure to hurricane-force winds.
The total cost of the project, which won't be finished until at least 2027, hasn't been revealed but the condominiums are already sold out as high as the 90th floor, those above going for a price starting at $4.3 million. There will be 205 hotel rooms and 360 condo units.
blog.panorbe.com
Uruguayan architect Carlos Ott, designer of the building.
The question is: if AGW is indeed a reality and, if we've passed the tipping point that will be pointed out at COP-27 in Sharm El Sheik, aren't the financiers of this project clinically insane? How about the buyers of the condos, aren't they making the mistake of their lives by purchasing a portion of a building whose lobby will require hip boots for passage in just a few years?
Models are used to project sea level rise based on warming that melts ice caps and glaciers but where are the models on wind speed? How is anyone able to predict what the change in wind speeds will be over time? Is it unreasonable to expect that climate change might produce wind speeds exceeding 200 knots, maybe as much as 300 knots, winds that no known structure can withstand?
There's also increasing concern that large buildings under construction in that area present a danger to near-by structures. According to the Wall Street Journal:
The Waldorf Astoria residential tower, which is under construction and is poised to be South Florida’s tallest building at more than 1,000 feet, had to contract close to 25 insurers to provide liability insurance for the project, said Ryan Shear, managing partner of PMG. Mr. Zutel, who brokered the deal, said he had never seen anywhere near that number of insurers for one project.
Are these people making a sensible financial decision?
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