CSU Team Investigates Earthquake Retrofits on Soft First-Floor Buildings
A team of researchers led by Colorado State University engineering professor John van de Lindt has spent the last month shaking a four-story building in San Diego to learn how to make structures with first-floor garages better withstand seismic shocks.
“Earthquakes are particularly damaging to buildings with open spaces at street level because they collapse; the first-floor parking makes the building structurally weak and soft,” van de Lindt says. “There are tens of thousands of these multifamily buildings throughout California and much of the U.S., making this a serious safety issue.”