shanghai-apartment: Analysis on toppling over

Some more details of the the shanghai-apartment which toppled over in June. Please refer previous post for images. in the following sketches an analysis is made as to how this accident occurred. One wonders whether if end bearing piles were use instead of precast friction ones could this accident have been avoided.

(1) An underground garage was being dug on the south side, to a depth of 4.6 meters
(2) The excavated dirt was being piled up on the north side, to a height of 10 meters
(3) The building experienced uneven lateral pressure from south and north
(4) This resulted in a lateral pressure of 3,000 tonnes, which was greater than why the pilings could tolerate. Thus the building toppled over in the southerly direction.

(Sina.com)

First, the apartment building was constructed

Then the plan called for an underground garage to be dug out.
The excavated soil was piled up on the other side of the building.

Heavy rains resulted in water seeping into the ground.

The building began to shift and the concrete pilings were snapped
due to the uneven lateral pressures.

The building began to tilt.

And thus came the eighth wonder of the world.