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A showcase on the 36th floor of the Millennium Tower may have cracked due to the tilt of the building and could be an isolated break or a widespread problem, said Friday an architectural engineering company in a report.
The report, filed Friday night with the city's Construction Inspection Department, says that someone will rappel into the building early next week to photograph the crack from the outside and
The engineering firm Allana Buick & Bers, engaged by the inhabitants of the building, has so far been able to assess the window only from inside the tower and said that she had to evaluate the outside of the window and of the building to determine the cause of the crack.
On Saturday, inspectors will use drone photographs and high-powered telephoto shots from adjacent buildings to examine the exterior.
"The fact that this piece of glass broke down because of the building's tilt may be a localized or potentially more widespread defect," the report says. "A deeper investigation on the exterior of the building is needed to understand and evaluate the problem."
This week, condo owners and other condo owners fear the broken window may be a symptom of deeper problems in the 58-story building. Since opening in 2009, the Millennium Tower has sank about 18 inches and has tipped to the side, raising serious concerns about the structural integrity of the building.
The firm's report came to a radically different conclusion from that of the millennium leadership, which sent an email to residents of the tower on Thursday and called the fault a one-off problem.
After two days of inspection and investigation by the tower's construction experts, Millennium's construction experts ruled that the crack was an "isolated problem," according to the email, which was obtained by The Chronicle on Friday .
The email also mentioned the previous window breaks that the tower experienced, "which experts had no connection with the building regulations". The architects said windows can sometimes crack due to temperature changes, glass defects and other factors.
Tower officials, who did not respond to requests for comment on Friday, said in the e-mail to residents that they planned to continue investigating what had caused glass cracking, "including assembly. and the installation of the window ".
The management of the building also promised to replace the glass after protecting it from any explosion.
We "are certain that this investigation will help determine the cause of this crack and ensure that this condition will not affect other units," says the email. This will include a look at the window from the outside, using a drone, according to a separate email sent to owners by The Chronicle.
The City's Building Inspection Department was informed of the crack on Tuesday. The ministry then ordered Millennium Management to review the window and submit a technical report. Spokesman Bill Strawn said the department will evaluate the report of the engineering firm on Monday.
Jerry Dodson, a Millennial resident, was skeptical of the management team's claim that the cracked window was an isolated incident. Dodson and 19 other Millennium residents sued the developer of the tower, Millennium Partners – as well as the city's inspection department, city attorney and Transbay authority – claiming that the builder and city officials do not disclose it to buyers.
The noise when the crack went through the window "was heard four floors down," he said.
"It's a bit hasty to conclude that this is not related to a building leaning toward 18-inch Mission Street."
For local residents who do not worry about the fate of their high houses, the mysterious crack of the 36th floor was another entertaining element of the Millennium Tower saga.
"We talk about it every time," said Justin Ford, who works at the Duetto computer research firm near Union Square. "It's a giant topic of conversation.
The crack is on the side of Mission Street, invisible from the sidewalk, far below. But the sidewalk itself was enough to stop Renato van der Halen and Marcio Celuppi. Tensioning tension can be achieved through a 12-foot-long loop in concrete and a multitude of small cracks.
Van der Halen, who lives in Noe Valley, was taking his guest from Houston to see the new transit center when they made the detour to Mission Street: "I heard about the leaning tower," Celuppi confirmed. "A group of friends at home were talking about it."
As they stopped to look up, Celuppi was questioned.
"They must be crazy to stay," he said, referring to residents. "If you have enough money to live there, you must also have enough money to live elsewhere."
Dominic Fracassa and John King are the editors of the San Francisco Chronicle staff. Email: [email protected], [email protected] Twitter: @dominicfracassa, @jkingsfchron
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