EARTHQUAKE-RESISTANT DESIGN : LESSONS LEARNT FROM TRADITIONAL ARCHITECTURE

Abstract

What really causes the mass devastation in the aftermath of an earthquake? It is the collapsed buildings that results in casualties and set off other hazards such as fire. As modern technology develops stronger materials and safer building techniques, the damage inflicted on buildings that adopt them paradoxically increases. The usage of concrete and steel as new building materials can prove to be harmful when new techniques of building are not properly assimilated into the vernacular building culture. Traditional vernacular buildings of timber and earth holding up amidst collapsed modern concrete buildings are belated reminders of the existence of earthquake resistance principles honed over time. They were developed over centuries but have become marginalized when the transition from traditional to modern technology was made. The objective of this dissertation is to study traditional seismic design, its relevance to earthquake-resistant architecture today, and when used appropriately with modern technology, how it could develop better earthquake resilient architecture.