Impact of neighbouring deep excavation on high-rise sun plaza building and its surrounding

Abstract

A deep excavation was carried out at the border of 38-story Sun Plaza Tower in Istanbul with a shoring that made use of temporary anchorages. However, building construction license was cancelled due to later detected legal issues. Since the structure could not have been placed timely, useful lifetime of temporary anchorages expired and safety concerns appeared. It led to rumors such as cracks appearing in the Tower and even became headlines in newspapers which led to loss of tenants. Here, technical and legal problems, which have arisen from this extraordinary situation, are discussed. Site investigations, numerical modeling and analyses conducted, and solution alternatives developed for this complex problem, which requires an interdisciplinary study, are explained in detail. The actual application of the proposed solution and the positive outcome in terms of both ensuring structural safety and gaining new tenants are also reported. It is expected that this study will draw attention to potential technical and legal problems that may arise in densely populated city centers where high-rise structures are continuously being constructed side by side.