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Seismic Upgrading of Existing Buildings

About Seismic Upgrading

In the past, outmoded and functionally obsolete buildings or unsafe, due to seismic vulnerability, buildings were routinely demolished. Today, they are often remodeled and restored. Because owners and the public often share an ethos of conservation and adaptive reuse and recycle, the volume of renovation work has been greatly increased. Functionally inadequate and underutilized buildings are commonly rehabilitated and seismically upgraded and converted into office space, apartment complexes and other more useful buildings.

In fact, as zoning and environmental regulation make it ever more difficult to construct new buildings, especially in cities, renovation may be the most practical course of action. Also, as the concept of recycling now extends beyond collection glass bottles and old newspapers, recycling of buildings have become more important and don’t need any energy to produce the existing elements and so more sustainable and green than any new construction.

Lateral-load upgrading involves more than installation of new shear walls or frames. Seismic upgrading involves bracing and anchoring nonstructural elements, such as partitions, lights, HVAC equipment, parapets and ornamentation and even file cabinets, bookshelves and storage racks. PSE provides the engineering, drafting and design services necessary for the seismic upgrading of existing buildings that do not meet the current code or are unsafe for occupants.