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7-Story Wooden Condo Survives 7.5 Magnitude Quake

Posted by timothy on from the this-is-awesome dept.

Mike writes "Earthquake news abounds as of late — recently a team of researchers from five universities unveiled an seven-story earthquake-proof wooden building that is capable of withstanding severe earthquakes. Featuring a structurally efficient nail distribution and a 63 anchor tie down system, the wooden condominium survived a test using an E-Defense shake table, which simulated a 7.5 magnitude quake (check out the video!)"

5 of 146 comments (clear)

  1. Orwellian by pushing-robot · · Score: 4, Informative

    seven-story earthquake-proof wooden building

    There! Are! Six! Floors!

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    How can I believe you when you tell me what I don't want to hear?
  2. Re:Unimpressive... by QuantumRiff · · Score: 4, Informative

    No, things like siding would just have to be torn off, to make sure the inside structure was still sound. You don't want to cover up the core structure for cosmetic reasons.. Also, that stuff does not really add much weight, and would be more likely to suffer damage, (ie, windows cracking, siding torn, Kitchen cabinets damaged, etc) that would not damage the integrity of the building, IE, they don't care if they have to replace the windows, the key is that the building doesn't collapse.

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    What are we going to do tonight Brain?
  3. Re:What about fire? by srussia · · Score: 3, Informative

    Oddly enough (and assuming you meant to write "flammable" instead of "inflammable")...

    Oddly enough, "flammable" and "inflammable" mean the same thing.

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    Set your phasers on "funky"!
  4. Re:Unimpressive... by frogzilla · · Score: 3, Informative

    Actually the building had steel plates on each floor to represent the real weight of the finishing materials and furnishings. There were a few dummy rooms with furnishing etc. Earthquakes don't look that bad from a distance. The shaking is strong though and the building has to stand up to it. Some of the forces exerted are stronger than gravity (the Northridge quake apparently exceeded 1.0 g -- up to 1.8 I think). In this case they are testing a new construction design and want to see if the real building matches their (computer) models.

  5. Re:Unimpressive... by russotto · · Score: 3, Informative

    I don't know what they are trying to prove with this crap here but I am not at all impressed by that video -- I mean the building is completely empty and naked! Wouldn't the siding, roofing, walls, doors, windows, people, and furnishings make the building more heavy (and more likely to collapse)? Wouldn't the plumbing make the building more rigid and again, more likely to collapse?

    Not plumbing. Neither copper nor plastic (and I doubt they'll be using cast iron in new construction) has enough rigidity to make the building more rigid, particularly since it isn't even tied into the structure (it's just on sheet-metal hangars, unless that's different in earthquake areas).