The architectural heritage in seismic area: Geometrical survey for damage analysis and strenghtening design

Abstract

The consultation of historical archive documents, often combined with a careful visual inspection, can reveal if the masonry structures of historic buildings has been subjected to several repairs, extensions or wheatear a portion was rebuilt after a partial collapse. These events leave indelible marks in the walls, affecting a building’s local or even the overall structural behavior, decreasing its level of performance. During the emergency time after an earthquake, fast damages analyses of the architectural heritage are required in order to temporarily preclude their use, fully or partially. To carry out correctly this damage analysis, a precise geometrical survey should be already available as a necessary supporting tool, with all anomalies reported and with minimal simplifications. Some examples are here reported, showing the importance of the use of an available geometrical survey for the damage evaluation of architectural heritage after the 2016 earthquake of central Italy.