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Paris Airport Collapse Blamed On DesignDetailed design weaknesses contributed to the collapse of a futuristic terminal at Charles de Gaulle airport, Paris, in May last year, an official investigation has concluded.
However, the report stopped short of pointing a finger of blame and refused to conclude there had been a "conceptual error" in the design of Terminal 2E, hailed as a masterpiece when it opened 11 months earlier.
The investigation identified four faults in design or construction that led to the partial collapse of the curving, concrete, glass and steel departure building, killing four people.
An investigating magistrate must now decide whether to recommend criminal proceedings for manslaughter against individuals involved in building or planning the terminal. The Paris airports authority will decide in April whether to demolish or repair the stricken building.
Terminal 2E was conceived by the award-winning French architect Paul Andreu, who is now working on a new opera house in Beijing. Earlier this week, M. Andreu's office put out a statement saying weaknesses in the metal reinforcing in the concrete were the principal cause of the building's collapse.
That was one of four contributory causes identified by the official report yesterday.
Jean Berthier, head of the investigation, told a press conference in Paris that the €750m (£515m) buil
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17/2/2005 | Viewed 6,846 time(s)
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