White stucco skyscraper is falling apart in New York City
What load do you expect a thin layer of stucco on a framework of iron re-bar to bear?
This is what happens when a developer builds and sells condominium units with a neighborhood or building association and does not retain "skin in the game" for the integrity and longevity of the building. Neither the wealthier members of the general public nor the pop culture celebrities who buy units from an ambitious, driven real estate agent using hardball sales tactics are experts at structural engineering, and thus there are no financial incentives for the developer outside of the usual building codes, inspection and enforcement to compel quality construction.
BREAKING POINT Iconic ultra-thin skyscraper dubbed The Matchstick is ‘full of cracks’ & could ‘rain CONCRETE’ from 1,400ft on passersby
The developers chose white stucco over durable (boring gray) concrete despite being warned by structural engineers.
TRD Staff
Developer Harry Macklowe and the late architect Rafael Viñoly insisted on a flawless white exterior to distinguish the project from Midtown’s glassy competition. But that design decision set off years of internal warnings, email clashes and rejected fixes during construction. ¶“Color or cracks,” one structural engineer for the project cautioned in 2012, after developers refused to use a darker, more durable concrete mix. The cracks appeared anyway.
High-strength mixes of durable concrete with steel reinforcement bars embedded do tend to be boring and gray, but are still the ultimate building choice for maintenance-free longevity, rather than the white stucco which was applied over the engineer's objections.