| 2012 collapse of Rio de Janeiro buildings | |
| Date: | 25 January 2012 |
| Time: | 8:33PM |
| Place: | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
| Also Known As: | Vieira Fazenda office block collapse |
| Cause: | Illegal Renovations |
| Reported Death(S): | 17 |
The January 25, 2012 Vieira Fazenda office block collapse involved the progressive collapse of 3 commercial office buildings, split by R. Vieira Fazenda street in the municipality of Praça Floriano, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The three buildings involved were (from west to east): Building 1 (a 22-story[1] building located at Av. Alm. Barroso, 6 - Centro, Rio de Janeiro, 20031-000, Brazil), Building 2 (a 23-story[2] building located at Av. Alm. Barroso, 22 - Centro, Rio de Janeiro, 20031-000, Brazil) and Building 3 (a 6-story[3] building located at Av. Rio Branco, 180 - Centro, Rio de Janeiro, 20040-003, Brazil).
At 8:33 PM,[4] the 23-story Building 2, began collapsing in the eastward direction towards the 6-story Building 3, which was located on the opposite side of R. Vieira Fazenda street. Building 2 was structurally connected to the adjoining 22-story Building 1, which caused it to pull Building 1 laterally eastward during its collapse. This extreme lateral shift caused the failure of enough support columns to result in the collapse of Building 1. As Building 2 continued its collapse in the eastward direction, its debris crashed through the roof and western load bearing wall of the 6-story Building 3, causing it to collapse as well.
A total of 17 people were killed in the disaster. The initial collapse of the 23-story Building 2, was due to structural failure. Regulators said that any construction done violated local building codes as there were no construction permits on file for the building.[5]
By January 31, 2012, Rio officials proposed the creation of new regulations, including periodic reports on building's structural conditions, and more rigorous enforcement of the current regulations.[6]