L’Ambiance Plaza Memorial

The L'Ambiance Plaza collapse was one of the worst disasters in modern Connecticut history. L'Ambiance Plaza was a 16-story residential project under construction in Bridgeport, Connecticut at the corner of Washington Avenue and Coleman Street. Its partially erect frame completely collapsed on April 23, 1987, killing 28 construction workers. Failure was possibly due to high concrete stresses on the floor slabs by the placement process resulting in cracking ending in a type of punch through failure. There was a school of thought that this accident was preventable and highlighted the deficiencies of the lift slab construction technique. This accident prompted a major nationwide federal investigation into this construction technique as well as a temporary moratorium of its use in Connecticut.