Collapse! The New Orleans Hotel Construction Disaster

On October 12, 2019, the structure under construction at 1031 Canal Street in New Orleans partially collapsed. Intended to be a Hard Rock Hotel when completed, the 18+ story steel-and-concrete frame structure experienced a sudden, progressive failure just prior to topping out. The resulting condition of the structure and its inherent instability created complications for not only the project site, but also surrounding structures, roadways, and victim recovery. Ultimately, the incident resulted in 3 fatalities and multiple injuries.

This presentation will discuss the history of the construction project and outline the authors’ experience with the stabilization of the remaining structure, demolition consulting, in addition to the findings of the forensic investigation into the failure of the structure.