Explosive success in Scottish towers demolition
Contractors have successfully demolished two tower blocks in the northern Scottish town of Kincardine using explosives, after extensive asbestos removal work had taken place on the structures.
The 16-storey towers were a particularly challenging project, as they were both Bison Wall Frame Panel construction buildings. The demolition of two similar nearby buildings in 1991 proved disastrous, when they failed to collapse after a supposedly thorough demolition attempt.
Contractors were also significantly limited by the surrounding geography, with a live electrical substation on one side and old mine workings on the other.
The project's explosives engineer, William Sinclair, said, "We were effectively restricted within a long narrow strip where we had to land the structures. Given the proximity of the mine workings, we also had to reduce the ground vibration to absolute minimal levels."
Prior to the blasts, overcladding and asbestos removal, soft strip, pre-weakening, drilling and installation of blast protection were carried out. The eventual process saw just 28 kg (62 lb) of explosives used to initial the controlled collapses of the towers, which each contained more than 8,000 tonnes of concrete.
Fife Council want to replace the towers with a new low-rise development.
