Existing structure assessment
Most of our work begins with a building that is already standing and an owner who wants a straight answer: will it hold in an earthquake, and if not, what does it take to make it hold? The answer does not come from the original drawings. It comes from the building as it exists today, measured and tested.
We survey the structure, take core samples and scan the reinforcement, then build an analysis model from what we found rather than from what was intended. The performance assessment follows Chapter 15 of TBDY 2018, the Turkish Building Earthquake Code, and ends in a report that says what the building can carry and where it falls short.
- Measured survey and a record of the structural system as it stands today
- Concrete core testing and reinforcement survey at the level of information the code requires
- Performance assessment to TBDY 2018 Chapter 15 with the target performance level agreed up front
- A report the person making the decision can read, as well as the engineer
Call us when you are buying, insuring, converting or simply worrying about an existing building. The assessment is the step that turns worry into a decision.
New structural design
For new buildings we design the structure from concept through construction drawings, in reinforced concrete and steel. The architecture sets the frame; we make sure the frame works under gravity and under the design earthquake, and that what is drawn can actually be built.
Where the project asks for it, we design on a performance basis rather than only to prescriptive rules, which matters for hospitals, data centres and any building that has to stay in use after the event.
- Foundation and superstructure design with the geotechnical report read, not filed
- Performance based seismic design where the occupancy justifies it
- Construction drawings and connection details that the site can follow
- Coordination with the architect and the mechanical team on the details that usually collide
Call us before the architectural scheme is frozen. Structural decisions made at that stage cost almost nothing; the same decisions made after tender cost a great deal.
Strengthening and retrofit
When the assessment shows a shortfall, we design the strengthening. The rule is simple: the retrofit is sized to the deficiency the analysis found, and no larger. Strengthening a building beyond what it needs wastes money and, in some cases, makes the structure stiffer in the wrong places.
The methods are the familiar ones: jacketing of columns and walls, fibre reinforced polymer wrapping, new reinforced concrete walls, steel frames added to the existing grid. Which of them applies depends on where the weakness sits and how much disruption the building can accept.
- Retrofit design derived directly from the assessment findings
- Column and shear wall jacketing, FRP strengthening, new walls and steel frames as the case needs
- Construction sequence that keeps as much of the building in use as possible
- Drawings and details to TBDY 2018 for the contractor and the reviewing authority
Call us with the assessment report in hand, or without one; if there is none, the assessment comes first, and we will say so.
Seismic isolation and damping
Some buildings cannot be brought to the target by conventional strengthening, or the damage the strengthening does to the building is more than the owner can accept. For those cases we design seismic isolation and energy dissipation: the building is decoupled from the ground, or the earthquake energy is taken out of it by dampers.
We write the isolator and damper specification, design the isolation storey and the details around it, and set out the prototype and production testing the code requires. On retrofit projects the design is planned so the building stays in use while the work is done.
- Isolator and damper specification with the testing programme written into it
- Isolation storey design: seismic gap, crossings, utility connections
- Design under TBDY 2018 Chapter 14 and, for international projects, ASCE 7 and EN 1998 (Eurocode 8)
- Retrofit sequencing for buildings that cannot close
Call us for hospitals, data centres, heritage buildings and any structure where staying operational after the earthquake is the actual requirement.
Vibration and structural monitoring
Not every structural problem is an earthquake. A floor that bounces under foot traffic, or a building beside a rail line or a press shop: these are vibration problems, and they are measured rather than guessed.
We measure ambient and forced vibration, compare the result against the limits that apply to that use, and design the fix if one is needed. For structures that need watching over time, we set up structural health monitoring and read it.
- Ambient and forced vibration testing with a report against the applicable limits
- Machine, traffic and construction induced vibration assessment
- Structural health monitoring: sensors, thresholds and periodic reading
- Remedial design where the measurement shows a problem
Call us when something moves and nobody can say why, or when an instrument or a tenant is sensitive to movement.
Consultancy and independent review
Sometimes the design already exists and what the owner needs is a second pair of eyes. We check another team's design, write the technical opinion, and provide the backing for a decision that will have to be defended later, to an authority or a court.
We also support owners through tender and construction: reading bids against the specification, answering the contractor's technical questions, and visiting site when a detail on paper meets a detail in concrete.
- Independent design review with a written finding
- Expert reports and technical opinion
- Bid evaluation against the specification during tender
- Technical support during construction, on call and on site
Call us when the stakes of a structural decision are high enough that one opinion is not enough.
Tell us about the building.
A paragraph is enough to start. If it is something we can help with, we will tell you how we would approach it. If it is not, we will say that too.
Tell us about the building