Number of defective buildings continues to grow
We reported on the Aneha building design scandal right when it broke. Since then it has taken so many twists and turns that you could probably devote a full-time blog to it.
Now we get word that the number of condominiums that were built using Aneha designs that are not up to required earthquake resistance specs has reached 98. These buildings are in danger of being seriously damaged in the event of a strong earthquake.
Many of the defective buildings are known to have been built by the bankrupt Kimura Construction Co. and designed by its subsidiary Heisei Sekkei design office. The bankrupt Huser Ltd. of Tokyo developed and sold many defective condos while a Tokyo-based consulting firm for hotel construction and operations, General Consultant Management, has been involved in building and managing those budget hotels.
That’s 98 buildings by a single architect. You’ve got to wonder show many other buildings there are out there that they don’t know about.
Yah, it is super big news. I feel bad for Mr. Aneha with his wife commiting suicide the other day. He was put the difficult situation of either make falsifications or be unemployed. I’m not trying to defend him, if he had stuck to his guns he wouldn’t be in this mess but just too bad.
March 31st, 2006 at 1:25 amWhen the media in Japan jump on a news item bandwagon though, they do it with extreme coordination.
There’s an Aneha Biru (building) in my city, across from our favorite restaurant. It was a nice building, but it’s all closed up now. That’s got to really suck for the owners…
March 31st, 2006 at 2:44 amI noticed that one of his buildings in Sumida Ward yesterday still seems to have people living there. Remember, it is not just the dwellers of these buildings, but those living on either side and anyone passing or driving by. Then there’s the slump in the new condo market and the worry of those having purchased recently. Mrs. Aneha was one of the many unfortunates that got caught in the fallout. Aneha was spineless, and the failure of gov’t to keep him in check was a major factor that led to this continuing tragic and sad state of affairs. Personally, I think the media has done a good job keeping this on the front burner, as the story may come back to haunt Tokyo in the not-so-distant future.
March 31st, 2006 at 7:53 amThe second commenter noted that it would suck to be the owner of an Aneha building. Indeed it would, as would being the owner of a condo in an Aneha building. Are these people expected to pay off their mortgages for their worthless condos? The bank has no collateral, essentially - why not just declare bankruptcy? In housing busts in the US, it’s not unusual for owners to “walk away” from their mortgage without even declaring bankruptcy; the lender simply eats the loss.
March 31st, 2006 at 5:24 pmI’m genuinely curious about the status of the mortgages held by the owners, but everyone I talk to just says, well, the owners have to pay the mortgages off.