why so many 4-floor buildings?

Doh

Because five story buildings must have elevators and elevators would require auxiliary generators for when the lights go out...and that costs more...

HB

Good reason to build 4 story unless you build 10 story.

Actually it's because the ground is like swiss cheese, with caverns and underground cavities that may collapse under too much structural weight or slight seismic activity.

I guess this is like trying to find out what day it is. I usually have to ask 3 to come to a concensus!

building regulations the world over require elevators in building of more than 4 stories... I'm guessing it's the same in the DR..

Ergo if it's cheaper to buy more land than to build an elevator you have a low-rise community.. if the land is more expensive you will get high-rise communities..

Again, this can be seen the world over..

It's the elevators. My brother worked at the A.D.N. and he can confirm. You'll hear the same if you go to SEOPC.

The soil is not the reason. Caverns are limited to certain areas, such as the "farall?n" strip in Santo Domingo. The towers in El Mirador are certainly suspect, but if you saw the excavations in the Kennedy Avenue (M?ximo G?mez and Lope de Vega) you know the soil isn't so porous as to become a hazard. The threat is not in the soil as much as the quality of the building.

Mirador said:

Actually it's because the ground is like swiss cheese, with caverns and underground cavities that may collapse under too much structural weight or slight seismic activity.

Click to expand...

Why will they build something that they know will collapse form a small earthqauke people these days have no minds. They know that when there is one earthquake you can just expect the next ones.

MerengueDutchie said:

building regulations the world over require elevators in building of more than 4 stories... I'm guessing it's the same in the DR..

Ergo if it's cheaper to buy more land than to build an elevator you have a low-rise community.. if the land is more expensive you will get high-rise communities..

Again, this can be seen the world over..

Click to expand...

The exception to this would be if there are any restrictions of constructions via zoning.

If a piece of land is more expensive and would naturally create a high-rise, but because of regulation only a low rise can be built, the apartments on low rise will be going at prices that will make even the well off skimish! (Is that the correct spelling of that word?)

An Evil said:

It's the elevators. My brother worked at the A.D.N. and he can confirm. You'll hear the same if you go to SEOPC.

The soil is not the reason. Caverns are limited to certain areas, such as the "farall?n" strip in Santo Domingo. The towers in El Mirador are certainly suspect, but if you saw the excavations in the Kennedy Avenue (M?ximo G?mez and Lope de Vega) you know the soil isn't so porous as to become a hazard. The threat is not in the soil as much as the quality of the building.

Click to expand...

You said it, the quality of the building is the deciding factor.

The soil is almost (notice, I said almost) irrelevant given modern techniques for building high rises. Have you been to Miami? Their soil is as porous as the esatern DR's soil is (actually, the entire Florida Peninsula is filled with caverns that are themselves filled with crystalline water. Of course, in Florida they are taping into that water source and since Florida has been booming lately, the water source is dropping, thus causing caves to fill with air and boom, a sinkhole occurs!

We might get some sinkholes here, but not as often as in Florida, besides only the eastern Hispaniola has the Coral based soil that is often related to these caves and fresh water underground rivers.

Having said all of this, Florida is seeing the construction of ever higher towers not conceivable to build there just a few years ago given the porous ground and the hurricanes, etc. The style of building is more important nowadays than the actual ground itself, but there are always exception.

Nal0whs said:

The exception to this would be if there are any restrictions of constructions via zoning.

If a piece of land is more expensive and would naturally create a high-rise, but because of regulation only a low rise can be built, the apartments on low rise will be going at prices that will make even the well off skimish! (Is that the correct spelling of that word?)

Click to expand...

The word you are looking for is "skittish". It means nervous or easily frightened.

Or possibly "squeemish"

At any rate, the idea of land value = high rise is certainly valid in Santiago where one of the nicest sectors has been given over to high rises, and neighborhood associations are fighting the tendency in other areas.

RE: The post that asked why build if an earthquake might well knock it down?
Simple: greed and the fact that earthquakes are a maybe and profits are NOW>


HB LD