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Report # 61 : Street front building with arcade at the first floor (pre-1970’s construction)

by George C. Yao, M. S. Sheu

This building type is common in most Taiwanese cities and towns. It represents a construction practice that was followed before1970 and is no longer used. The main load-bearing structure consists of reinforced concrete frames designed for gravity loads only, with brick masonry infill walls. Brick walls were built before the concrete was poured thereby serving as a formwork for concrete. Buildings of pre-1970 construction were characterized with a better bond between the masonry and concrete as compared to the buildings of more recent construction, in which reinforced concrete frames serve as main load-bearing system for lateral and gravity loads. Buildings of this type are medium-rise (4 to 5 stories high). Usually, the first floor (typically 4 m high) is used for commercial purposes while the upper stories (typically 2 to 4 stories above, floor height 3 m) are used for storage and residences. Neighboring units of similar design are constructed together to form a shady corridor for pedestrians to walk in. The number of connected units varies from 6 to 10. These units may be connected in one row, or in an L shape, or in the U shape along the street block. There are several structural deficiencies characteristic for this construction: (1) the weak and soft first story because the commercial space demands a large opening at the street level; (2) typical building layout has walls in one direction only, perpendicular to the street. As a consequence, there are few earthquake-resisting elements in the other direction; (3) extra rooftop additions increase the load. Many buildings of this type collapsed in the 1999 Chi-Chi earthquake.

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Report # 59 : Reinforced concrete frame with concrete shear walls – dual system

by Adel Awad, Hwaija Bassam, Isreb Talal

These buildings are characterized by a combination of shear walls and frames in both directions. The buildings are multiple housing units found in the main cities of Syria. The shear walls are often part of the elevator and service cores, whereas the frames are arranged in-plane, in conjunction with the walls, to support the floor system. Stiffness and mass distribution are irregular and the majority of buildings may experience soft-story or torsional problems. As a result, these buildings are expected to have only moderate seismic resistance.

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Report # 58 : Rubble-stone masonry house

by Marjana Lutman, Miha Tomazevic

Rubble-stone masonry houses are still found throughout Slovenia. This housing type with its special history represents a typical, older residential building in the northwestern part of Slovenia. After their destruction during World War I, these houses were rebuilt, mostly with the recycled stone material from demolished buildings. Many houses of this type were subsequently damaged during the last two earthquakes in Slovenia (1976 Friuli and 1998 Bovec). In order to preserve the country’s architectural heritage, about 66% of these houses were strengthened following these earthquakes.

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Report # 57 : Wood panel wall buildings (typical seria 181-115-77 cm of “Giprolesprom”)

by Mark Klyachko, Andrey Benin, Janna Bogdanova

This is a rural housing construction practice widespread in the forested areas of Russia. Buildings of this type are common in seismically prone areas of Russia (Far East, Siberia, Baikal Lake Region). The load-bearing structure is made of wood panel walls. Buildings have timber roof and fieldstone or concrete strip foundations. Typical seria 181-115-77 cm of ‘Giprolesprom’ for seismic regions is an example of this building type. Seismic resistance is relatively high, provided that the quality of materials and the construction are satisfactory.

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Report # 56 : Timber log building

by Mark Klyachko, Andrey Benin, Janna Bogdanova

This is a rural housing construction practice widespread in the forests of Russia. Buildings of this type are common for seismically prone areas of Russia (Far East, Siberia, Baikal Lake Region, North Caucasus). The load-bearing structure is made of wood. To construct the walls, timber logs are sawn horizontally in a square or circular cross section with special end joints (similar to dovetail joints). Buildings have timber roofs and fieldstone or concrete strip foundations. Typical seria 146-115-77 cm of ‘Giprolesprom’ for seismic regions is an example of this building type. Seismic performance of these buildings is good if the construction quality is adequate.

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Report # 55 : Large reinforced concrete panel buildings (Series 122, 135 and 1-464c)

by Mark Klyachko, Igor Mortchikchin, Igor Nudga

Large panel buildings represent one of the most common multifamily housing construction types (apartment buildings) in the former Soviet Union. Buildings of this type range from 4 to 9 stories high. This construction practice started in the 1960s and has been followed ever since. This contribution describes three different types (series) of large panel construction, known as seria 122, seria 135, and seria 1-464c. These three types (seria) are characterized by welded panel connections. The main vertical load-bearing elements, designed to carry both gravity and lateral loads, are precast reinforced concrete panels. Typically, buildings are of a regular plan and are characterized with only one interior load-bearing wall in the longitudinal direction and several walls in the transverse direction. Floor and roof structures are also made of precast reinforced concrete panels. Both wall and floor panels are of room dimensions, and the assembly of these structures consists of setting the panels in their final position and joining them in a box-type structure by means of welded joints. The methodology of achieving panel connections in large panel construction practice has significantly improved in the last 50 years. Seria 1-464c is among the first seria of large panel construction. Initially, panel joints in seria 1-464c were achieved by welding the steel elements projecting from the panels. Later on, welded joints were replaced with the monolithic joints. Seria 1-464c is characterized by a plan typical for large panel buildings with continuous walls and a typical span (2.7 m or 3.6 m) of cross walls (Figures 3C and 3D). Seria 122 is characterized by discontinuous façade walls in the longitudinal direction (Figure 3A). Seria 135 is characterized by a larger span of cross walls (6m) as compared to the other types (see figure 3B). Due to the large wall density, these buildings are rather rigid. Seismic resistance in this construction type is generally good, as these buildings have been exposed to several strong earthquakes in the former Soviet Union.

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Report # 54 : Large concrete block walls with reinforced concrete floors and roof (typical series: 1-306c, 1-307c, 114c)

by Mark Klyachko, Yuriy Gordeev, Freda Kolosova

This is a typical residential construction found both in urban and rural areas. It represents a construction practice followed in the former Soviet Union. Buildings of this type constitute 15 to 30% of the housing stock in earthquake-prone areas of Russia (Far East, Siberia, Baikal Lake Region, North Caucasus) and CIS states (Central Asia, Armenia, Georgia, etc.). The main load bearing system for lateral and gravity loads consists of concrete block masonry walls and concrete floor slabs. Seismic resistance is relatively good, provided that the welded block wall connections are present and are well constructed.

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Report # 53 : Small concrete block masonry walls with concrete floors and roofs

by Mark Klyachko, Yuriy Gordeev, Freda Kolosova

This is a typical residential construction found both in urban and rural areas. It represents a construction practice followed in the former Soviet Union. Buildings of this type constitute 15 to 30% of the housing stock in seismically prone areas of Russia (Far East, Siberia, Baikal Lake Region, North Caucasus) and in CIS states (Central Asia, Armenia, Georgia, etc.). The main load-bearing system for lateral and gravity loads consists of concrete block masonry walls and concrete floor slabs. Seismic resistance is relatively good, provided that the welded block wall connections are present and well constructed.

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Report # 52 : Adobe house

by Cesar Loaiza F., Marcial Blondet, Gianfranco Ottazzi

This is a traditional construction practice followed for over 200 years. Houses of this type can be found both in urban and rural areas in the coastal and highlands regions of Peru. Walls are made of adobe blocks laid in mud mortar. The roof structure is made of wood; it usually consists of timber beams with timber planks covered with a mud mortar overlay or with clay tiles or metal sheets. Houses of this type are mainly occupied by poor people. This construction is considered to be very vulnerable to earthquake effects.

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