Building condition and impact assessment of underground construction

The approach to assessing the risk of building damage due to underground construction in Singapore broadly follows a staged approach described in local guides such as the Land Transport Authority of Singapore’s Civil Design Criteria for Road and Rail Transit Systems and TR 26:2010. However, the current approach does not consider the existing condition of buildings prior to external effects from adjacent underground construction. This paper presents an experience in developing a method to incorporate the existing condition of buildings into the impact assessment framework. The first part of the paper discusses the work to develop guidance on classifying the existing condition of buildings more objectively. The second half of this paper explores various methods that incorporate the existing condition of buildings into the damage assessment framework. These have enhanced the objectivity of visual inspection works as well as giving more confidence on impact assessment studies conducted in Singapore.