Seismic vulnerability assessment is a comprehensive process that involves evaluating the susceptibility of structures to potential damage or failure during seismic events. This assessment is crucial for understanding and mitigating the impact of earthquakes on structures. Still, it is necessary to emphasize that vulnerability assessment is not a singular procedure: it varies based on the scale...
The interaction between urban tramway infrastructure and earthquake-damaged buildings presents a significant challenge for structural engineers and urban planners, particularly in densely populated, heritage-rich city centers. This paper examines the impact of vibrations induced by tram traffic on the structural integrity of earthquake-damaged buildings, through a case study of a historical...
Assessment of mechanical properties of unreinforced stone masonry depends on the material used and the construction techniques applied. In this paper we explore the mechanical properties of stone masonry components on a case study - a more than 200-year-old historical building near Rijeka, which is currently being renovated and repurposed, as part of the ongoing research project on stone...
The Byzantine civilization is one of the longest-lived cultures, well known by the large number of religious buildings, which today represent part of the world cultural heritage. Byzantine churches are great part of North Macedonia’s tangible heritage, as one of the most valuable and numerous medieval monuments, with exceptional architectural and artistic values. Several characteristic...
The deterioration of old masonry structures, particularly from the Middle Ages, poses significant challenges due to material degradation and structural deficiencies. This study focuses on assessing and strengthening a traditional stone masonry "Kulla," addressing the need to preserve its historical character while improving its structural performance to meet modern building codes. The research...
As part of the tangible cultural heritage, historic buildings hold great importance for today’s societies. These are buildings that have persisted for hundreds or thousands of years as visible witnesses of the past generations and their traditions, and as such deserve special attention and treatment.
A particular challenge is the protection of historical buildings located in seismic regions,...
The world has witnessed widespread damages and losses suffered by precious cultural heritage structures during recent earthquakes e,g. Emilia-Romagna, Italy 2012; Central Italy 2016; Turkey /Syria 2023; Morocco 2023; Tohoku, Japan 2011; Puebla, Mexico 2017; Nepal 2015; Christchurch, New Zealand 2011; Iran 2017, among others. Based on traditional surveys and reconnaissance using 3D...
Building codes on earthquake-resistant design, construction, and retrofitting are being improved based on observations of building performance during strong earthquakes, with the aim of mitigating earthquake risk in proportion to the corresponding hazard, as highlighted in recent findings from the SeisRICHerCRO Croatian Science Foundation Research Project IP-2020-02-3531. In the Republic of...
The Gründerzeit houses in Vienna, which were built between 1948 and 1918, are an essential part of the Viennese building infrastructure with a number of approx. 30,000. Since 1992, the masonry properties of over 200 buildings with over 2,000 test points have been determined and evaluated by the authors. These were determined in the course of the engineering findings in order to carry out the...
A large number of cultural heritage buildings, especially in the Mediterranean area, belong to dry masonry stone structures. In order to be able to make decisions about possibly necessary rehabilitation techniques and to preserve them for future generations, it is necessary to have insight into their behaviour due to expected actions, the most destructive of which is an earthquake. As part of...
The main purpose of this paper is to assess the seismic resistance of a masonry building from the Austro-Hungarian period in Sarajevo. The building is situated in Sarajevo's old Baščaršija, which is well-known for its marketplace of tiny adobe and wooden buildings from the Ottoman era. It is characterized by specific Austro-Hungarian architecture from the rebuilt Latin district next to the...
Extensive construction of buildings with structural system made of reinforced concrete walls had been started in the early 60s of the last century, as a continuation of the rebuild of Europe after the World War II. This was especially true in the Western Balkan region. In some way these buildings replaced multistorey masonry buildings, enabled significantly higher number of floors and a larger...
The second half of the 20th century was marked by the rise of prefabricated concrete systems used as the best solution for fast construction after the vast devastation of the building stock after the WWII. In Yugoslavia, several innovative structural systems were used for mass construction of multi-family housing blocks. Two large groups of prefabricated systems were: 1) large panel and 2)...
Large scale complex historical buildings, such as palaces or historical city centres, are usually composed of aggregates that were built or connected in different phases. Consequently, under seismic action, there will be an interaction between the buildings that needs to be taken into account when performing their seismic vulnerability assessment. As seen by past seismic events, historical...
