STRUCTURE Articles

Alternate procedures may be called for when the vertical elements of a lateral force resisting system are not continuous to the highest diaphragm.

A 100-year-old landmark synagogue underwent seismic renewal and modernization to extend its use by students, educators, clergy, and congregants.

The first building completed in the Sonoma State University campus received a major seismic upgrade and architectural renovation.

Two San Francisco projects illustrate how structural design benefits architecture technically and even politically.

A 2015 assessment declared the Resources Building in California the No. 1 State-owned building most in need of repair. After a comprehensive renovation, the 62-year-old structure has turned from relic to radiant.

While contours may appear intuitive, discerning real diaphragm force flow demands a more thoughtful approach.

The Seattle Aquarium’s new Ocean Pavilion proves that virtually any concrete shape can be built when digital tools blend with outside-the-box engineering.

The construction team for a college located near the San Andreas fault faced many column shoring challenges while implementing a complicated seismic retrofit.

Past earthquakes in California have shown that some concrete buildings, with certain design and detailing characteristics, perform poorly in large earthquakes and have long been known to present threats to life-safety.

Developing code provisions for a class of buildings that are relatively similar is difficult. A better approach is to define the problem, present information on past building performance during earthquakes, and then let the structural engineer decide on the appropriate design.

Besides the structural aspects of a building, geologic effects as well as non-structural hazards need to be addressed in any retrofit.

Combining viscous dampers with advanced structural design technologies can be effective in identifying optimized retrofit solutions.