Seismic response of monumental masonry buildings
Event details
| Date | 24.10.2013 |
| Hour | 12:15 › 13:15 |
| Speaker | Prof. Stefano Podestà |
| Location |
GC B331
|
| Category | Conferences - Seminars |
The recent Italian earthquakes (Abruzzo 2009 and Emilia 2012) highlighted once more the high seismic vulnerability of existing masonry buildings, also in the case of cultural heritage structures. The evaluation of the seismic response of historical monumental buildings calls for an interdisciplinary approach able to take into account different type of input that characterize the fundamental phase of knowledge. Only if we are able to translate these data into a mechanical model it is possible to design reliable seismic improvement interventions.
The recent Italian Guide Lines for the evaluation and reduction of seismic vulnerability of cultural heritage (Directive PCM, February 2011) represent a useful tool to this aim.
It will be demonstrated during the presentation that the current design specifications adopted by the Italian Technical Code, if they were applied in a preventive way on churches damaged by the Abruzzo 2009 or Emilia 2012 earthquakes, they would have reduced the damage level and avoided some structural collapses. It will be further shown that the economic costs of preventive retrofitting interventions, in particular for monumental buildings, are of a lower order of magnitude in comparison with the costs that amount after a seismic event.
Short Bio: Dr. Stefano Podestà is Assistant Professor of Structural Engineering of Department of Civil, Chemical and Environmental Engineering at the University of Genoa (Italy) and he is currently a visiting professor at the IMAC laboratory of EPFL. His specific fields of research regard different topics: the monitoring and diagnosis of existing buildings; the definition of retrofit intervention strategies; the individuation of methodologies finalized to the seismic risk analysis at territorial level. Recently he is providing support to the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities, for the design of the Informative System for the evaluation of seismic risk of cultural heritage. He is author of more than 130 scientific publications with national and international relevance. He is currently lecturer for Timber Structure Design (CL5 – Bachelor degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering) and Building Retrofit (CL5 – Bachelor degree in Construction Engineering) courses.
The recent Italian Guide Lines for the evaluation and reduction of seismic vulnerability of cultural heritage (Directive PCM, February 2011) represent a useful tool to this aim.
It will be demonstrated during the presentation that the current design specifications adopted by the Italian Technical Code, if they were applied in a preventive way on churches damaged by the Abruzzo 2009 or Emilia 2012 earthquakes, they would have reduced the damage level and avoided some structural collapses. It will be further shown that the economic costs of preventive retrofitting interventions, in particular for monumental buildings, are of a lower order of magnitude in comparison with the costs that amount after a seismic event.
Short Bio: Dr. Stefano Podestà is Assistant Professor of Structural Engineering of Department of Civil, Chemical and Environmental Engineering at the University of Genoa (Italy) and he is currently a visiting professor at the IMAC laboratory of EPFL. His specific fields of research regard different topics: the monitoring and diagnosis of existing buildings; the definition of retrofit intervention strategies; the individuation of methodologies finalized to the seismic risk analysis at territorial level. Recently he is providing support to the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities, for the design of the Informative System for the evaluation of seismic risk of cultural heritage. He is author of more than 130 scientific publications with national and international relevance. He is currently lecturer for Timber Structure Design (CL5 – Bachelor degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering) and Building Retrofit (CL5 – Bachelor degree in Construction Engineering) courses.
Practical information
- General public
- Free
Organizer
- Prof. Nikolas Geroliminis & Prof. Katrin Beyer
Contact
- Dr. Pierino Lestuzzi