Whipped Cream Difficulties

In 2008, the City of Austin opened the Turner-Roberts Recreation Center on the east side of town. The center cost $4.3 million to build.

In 2011, the City of Austin has closed the center due to “significant structural problems with the foundation and walls”.

One of two engineering firms that have assessed the building has said it would take seven months and $2.7 million to repair it, or 10 months and $4.1 million to tear it down and rebuild it.

The architects who designed the building say…

…there are clearly structural flaws with the building, however, it was properly designed to withstand the area’s unique clay soil, which swells when wet.

And, to be fair, the contractor who built the building says…

…the company also agrees there are problems with the building, especially the foundation, but doesn’t know if they were caused by engineering, design or construction mistakes. Nonetheless, Journeyman is willing to pay to repair the center, he said.

But the question I’d ask is: what are Journeyman’s plans for repair? Are they just going to do a cheap patch job?

(I also wonder if designing the building for soil that swells when wet is part of the problem; given how dry it has been here, could the issues with the building be caused by soil contraction? Of course, I’m not a structural engineer.)