Eleven months after the collapse of the residential complex “Space,” the Prosecutor General’s Office has called for a trial of five individuals named in the case, reports local media.
According to the Deputy Prosecutor General, Jorge Perdomo, a study by the firm Ingenieria Sismica y Estructural SAS concluded that the “Space” tower collapsed due to inadequate structural design that violated national standards, reported newspaper El Espectador.
Located in the wealthy Poblado neighborhood of Medellin, Space collapsed in October 2013, killing 12 people. The luxury complex, with apartments selling from between $100,000 and $265,000, was built by Lleida CDO, owned by a former governor of Antioquia, Alvaro Villegas, and designed by Jorge Jesus Aristizabal.
MORE: Medellin apartment building collapses; 11 missing and feared dead
“The structural design of the building violates the fundamental aspects of the existing legal structures governing seismic design and construction in the country,” said the engineer Leonardo Cano Saldana, who led the study.
According to the study, the Space building had structural flaws because the company, Lleida CDO, did not comply with standards and defaulted on the quality of materials.
The five individuals identified to stand trial are;
- Pablo Villegas – legal representative of the construction firm Lleida CDO
- María Cecilia Posada – assistant director Lleida CDO
- Jorge Jesus Aristizabal – structural engineer
- Francis Eliney Llanos – former curator
- Carlos Alberto Ruiz – former curator
Local housing authorities are investigating 30 buildings constructed over the past years by CDO after complaints that similar construction methods were used to the one accused of causing of the collapse of Space.
MORE: 30 Medellin Buildings Under Inspection For Structural Problems After ‘Space’ Towers Collapse
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