Michael Cochran, S.E., SECB, is Vice President of Thornton Tomasetti in Marina del Rey, Califorinia. He is the SEAOC Past President, serves on the AISC – Prequalified Connection Review Panel and is a member of the Mayor’s Earthquake Technical Task Force for the City of Los Angeles. He can be reached at mcochran@thorntontomasetti.com.
Design forces for short period, regular structures, five stories and less in height, in high seismic hazard areas, are permitted to be designed for less seismic force than would otherwise be required by use of the mapped ground motion parameters. …
Los Angeles is no stranger to earthquakes and, like other cities in California, has experienced extensive damage in previous seismic events, which has led to significant advancements in earthquake engineering. Some might say that L.A. has been the epicenter of seismic code development since the 1933 Long Beach Earthquake. Because of its long history with seismic events and their aftermath, Los Angeles has embarked in a leadership role to create a long-term program to educate the public, help building owners to seismically strengthen their buildings, and improve overall community resiliency after the next earthquake. …