Following a flurry of stories and images over social media, the management of Lisbon’s iconic Colombo shopping centre has “guaranteed the safety of the entire structure of the building”, writes Lusa.
“The structure of the Colombo Centre is completely safe, and its stability and structural performance are fully guaranteed,” said a statement on the integrity of the largest mall in the country (taking up roughly 120,000 square metres with more than 300 shops).
It was Vizinhos em Lisboa, a residents’ association, which denounced what it called the ‘structural risk’ of one of the mall’s pillars, demanding an urgent inspection by the city council, as well as the intervention of other entities, including the Food and Economic Safety Authority (ASAE).
The association presented photographs of the “visible structural degradation in several pillars and concrete components’ , including “chipped areas, loss of material and the presence of improvised materials, such as adhesive tape, applied directly to the pillars.
“At the same time, opaque coatings are being applied that could hide critical signs of cracking or fragility. As Colombo is one of the busiest places in the city, the situation raises serious public safety concerns,” warned the association.
Management however insists that “the pillar whose image has been circulating in recent days is in perfect safety condition and does not pose any risk to the use of the building.
“There is no fracture, crack or damage to the concrete. The effect visible in the photographs and videos is the result of a misalignment in the pillar’s cladding and does not affect its structural function,” the statement went on, emphasising that the structural soundness of the pillar in question has always been guaranteed by Colombo’s technicians.
Management has also requested independent opinions from entities specialising in structures, highlighting “the assessment by LNEC – National Laboratory for Civil Engineering, which confirms that there are no cracks or disintegration of the concrete in the pillar or slab, and therefore there is no mechanical breakage of the pillar, nor any risk of detachment and falling materials. It therefore concludes that there is no danger to the movement of people and goods.”
Similarly, says Lusa, Centro Colombo requested an assessment by engineering firm Adão da Fonseca – Engenheiros Consultores, Lda., which also “confirms the full functional stability of the structure, emphasising once again that there is no risk to people or goods”.
The Colombo centre is currently carrying out renovation work with the sole aim of innovating its space to improve the visitor experience, and “this work is not related to the structure of the building and has no impact on it”, the management’s statement went on, concluding that the normal operation of the shopping centre is guaranteed “in complete safety, with no risk to visitors or workers”.
source: LUSA
