Degenkolb Team Assesses Structural Damage At the Epicenter of Italy’s L’Aquila Earthquake
For Immediate Release:
Contact: Chris Nishimura, Solem & Associates
Phone: 415-788-7788
Direct: 415-296-2032
California Engineering Experts Are among the First with Access to ‘Red Zone’
L’ AQUILA, ITALY (April 20, 2009) — On a remarkable six-day reconnaissance trip to the epicenter of Italy’s magnitude 6.3 earthquake that killed hundreds of people earlier this month, a specialized team of seismic experts from Degenkolb Engineers is assessing structural resilience in the town’s historic core, an area still predominantly off limits to the public and the media.
Under government escort, the team headed by Chris Poland, Chairman and CEO of Degenkolb, entered the one-mile square in the center of historic L’Aquila to evaluate buildings that early reports had said were “destroyed”.
“Aside from the high-profile collapses and major church damage, the overall performance of modern structures in the city center appears to be within “Life-Safety” limits but not yet inhabitable,” said Andrew Scott, associate principal of Degenkolb. “In general the damage is limited to frame infills and partition walls, which appeared to perform well as structural fuses and damping mechanisms, except where they collapsed into interior spaces.”
“As structural engineers, we find the characterization ‘destroyed’ to be grossly overstated,” says Poland. “From the perspectives of the residents, however, the term ‘destroyed’ appears closer and closer to the reality. Though many of the structures are actually intact, people’s ‘homes’ are not, their spirits are not, and their livelihoods are not.”
The high profile Hotel Duca Degli Abruzzi (before and after pictures included) was a classic ‘soft-story’ structure, an older reinforced concrete building with a completely open parking level underneath. The building collapsed in spectacular fashion, leaving a complex web of concrete, steel, and rubble filled with tantalizing clues to its demise. The challenge for Poland and his team will be to understand the clues to prevent similar occurrences at home and around the world.
Buildings in the area that have undergone retrofits, or what the Italians term “interventions”, have experienced a range of success, from fairly unsuccessful to perfectly successful. These structures offer important lessons for our retrofit efforts in the United States and will be a point of considerable interest for the Degenkolb team.
“As we continue to observe, continue to speak with residents and continue to learn, it has become painfully clear that there is a gross disconnect between the performance we seek as engineers and the performance we expect as residents. As we move forward with this trip and with this experience, we will undoubtedly be searching to understand this disconnect and to seek its resolution,” said Scott.
The team of Degenkolb Engineers includes Holly Razzano, principal and Ricardo Hernandez, associate principal.
To follow the live blogging of Degenkolb engineers from L’ Aquila complete with pictures of the damage, visit http://www.degenkolb.com/blog/.
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Established in 1940, Degenkolb Engineers is one of the nation’s leading structural engineering firms in the design and seismic strengthening of buildings. Degenkolb offers comprehensive design, rehabilitation, and consulting services to architects, building owners, hospitals, educational institutions, corporations and government agencies. The firm has offices in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Oakland, San Diego, Portland and Seattle. Degenkolb routinely leverages firm-wide experience, calling on support from any of its six U.S. offices to ensure technical excellence on all projects.
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