A viable base isolation strategy for the advanced seismic retrofit of an R/C building

A base isolation seismic retrofit solution for a reinforced concrete school building, designed with earlier Technical Standards, is presented in this paper. The structural characteristics of the building are initially discussed. The mechanical parameters and installation details of the isolation system, incorporating double friction pendulum sliding bearings as protective devices, are then illustrated. The results of the performance assessment analyses carried out in original and rehabilitated conditions show a remarkable enhancement of the seismic response capacities of the structure in base-isolated configuration. The high performance levels postulated in the retrofit design are reached with notably lower costs and architectural intrusion as compared to traditional rehabilitation strategies. © 2014 Stefano Sorace and Gloria Terenzi.