The Institution of Structural Engineers The Institution of Structural Engineers
Back to Previous

Seismic assessment and retrofit of unreinforced masonry buildings

Tag
Author
Date published
Price
Buy Now

Jason Ingham, Professor of Structural Engineering at the University of Auckland, discusses how his study on unreinforced masonry (URM) buildings has made an impact on industry practice.

The New Zealand Government funded the project, which ran from 2004 to 2010. It covered a broad range of topics associated with seismic assessment and improvement of existing buildings. Following the Canterbury earthquake sequence in 2010, the project received further funding during the recovery of the earthquakes. Jason Ingham explains that he was assigned a task in writing the national guidance documents, which saw research findings from the study incorporated into industry procedures.

damaged buildings

For over 50 years, construction of URM buildings had been prohibited in New Zealand and many other seismically-active countries. At the time, techniques for constructing these buildings were not taught in university structural engineering courses.

In conjunction with large earthquakes that occurred in New Zealand over the last decade, the research on seismic assessment and retrofit of URM buildings has subsequently led to:

  • The authoring of a national methodology for URM detailed seismic assessment
  • Multiple training courses nationwide to upskill the professional engineering community
  • Evidence being presented at the Canterbury Earthquakes Royal Commission
  • Contributions to the development of emergency legislation for URM façade securing

The Institution of Structural Engineers aims to discover new influential projects of any scale to celebrate the successful application of research into practice. The Research into Practice Essay Competition is open for entries until 27 September 2019.

Enter the competition.

Additional information

Format:
Case Study
Publisher:
IStructE

Tags

Blog Masonry Disaster mitigation, management & recovery Seismic & Vibration

Related Resources & Events

Course
steel roof

Eurocode 3: structural steelwork design

This one-day, online course examines changes between BS 5950 and Eurocode 3. The emphasis is on buildings and the provision of general rules for buildings of EN 1993-1-1 and design of joints to EN 1993-1-8.

Date – 27 September 2023
Location – Online
Price – £275 - £425 + VAT
Webinar
Concrete structure

Analysis and strengthening of concrete buildings: common construction types 1950 - 1985

The first webinar of a 6-part series on the analysis and strengthening of concrete buildings built from 1950 – 1985

Date – 4 July 2023
Location – Online
Price – £45 - £70 + VAT
Course
Presenting work at the 2018 Young Researchers Conference

Moving into engineering management

This two-day in-person course gives first time managers a toolbox of techniques to use for managing engineers and other technical staff.

Date – 4 October 2023
Location – The Institution of Structural Engineers
Price – £565 - £845 + VAT

Item Added to basket

Go to checkout