by T. P. Tassios, Kostas Syrmakezis
These buildings represent a typical multi-family residential construction, mainly found in the Greek suburbs. This housing type is very common and constitutes approximately 30% of the entire housing stock in Greece. Buildings are generally medium-rise, typically 4 to 5 stories high. The main lateral load-resisting structure is a dual system, consisting of reinforced concrete columns and shear walls. A relatively small-sized reinforced concrete core is usually present and serves as an elevator shaft. The roof and floor structures consist of rigid concrete slabs supported by the beams. Seismic performance of these buildings is generally good, provided that the seismic design takes into account the soft ground floor effects, e.g., by installing strong RC shear walls. Failure of the soft ground floor is the most common type of damage for this type of structure. Some buildings of this type were damaged in the 1999 Athens earthquake.
World Housing Encyclopedia
an EERI and IAEE project