Reminiscences (continued)
BBB: Indeed – and I was entrusted to build up a new department, covering soil and rock mechanics, and later soil dynamics. The number of researchers and doctoral students increased and we were able to maintain close contacts with the international geotechnical community, in spite of the move of SGI from Stockholm. I am also very proud of the work done by many doctoral students at KTH.
KRM: During this period you were also very active in ISSMFE.
BBB: From 1977 until 1981, I served as Vice President of ISSMFE for Europe, with the 10th International Conference being held in Stockholm at the end of my term. One of the persons most strongly working for bringing the conference to Sweden was Prof. Hansbo, then president of the Swedish Geotechnical Society. The Swedish King opened the conference. Also, this was the first conference to introduce the idea of “home hospitality”, inviting conference participants as guests to members of the host country. This concept, which has now become a tradition, and many other aspects of the conference were quite successful.
KRM: And in 1985 you became president of ISSMFE.
BBB: I was elected in 1985 at the San Francisco conference, and this was quite an honor for a small country. At that time, I had already moved from Stockholm to Singapore, where I was given the task of starting up a geotechnical department at the newly founded Nanyang Technological Institute, NTI, which later became Nanyang Technological University, NTU. This was a remarkable period not only in Singapore but in the entire regions, with many interesting construction projects just starting up.
KRM: Also there you continued arranging geotechnical seminars and conferences, which attracted many participants from the region and abroad. During your career you consulted on many major construction projects.
BBB: I was fortunate to become involved in several very interesting projects. In Singapore, work on the MRT subway had just started, so I had the opportunity to get involved in some aspects of this complex project. One of my more spectacular project involvements was serving as consultant on the foundation of the Kuwait towers.
Conference in Singapore in honor of Prof. Bengt Broms, 1995
KRM: Your lectures about the collapse of the New World Hotel are quite well-known!
BBB: I was member of the panel that was charged with the investigation of the failure of this hotel in Singapore, which collapsed on March 15, 1986. The story about the design and construction of the hotel sounds like a saga. Only one of three owners could write and read. The piles were driven without knowing the shape of the building. The original structural engineer had also made a serious error in calculating the weight of the building. At the time of the collapse, the six-storey hotel was quite busy, so nobody paid attention when they heard cracking in walls and columns. During a seven-day rescue operation after the collapse, 17 people were found alive, but 33 people lost their lives. As a consequence of the failure, the government of Singapore introduced tighter regulations on building construction.
KRM: Returning to your presidency of ISSMFE, I understand that you had several concerns about the future of the society?
BBB: Yes, at that time, the question of the name of the society was discussed and disputed. It was suggested by some to include the term “geotechnical engineering” – which since has been implemented. Another of my concerns was the low number of young
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