The chosen m ethod explains basic principles by m atch-
ing them w ith illustrations, exam ples, and an explana-
tory text. The principles, photographs (from the author
or third parties), and the texts are the result of a long
research and design activity in the challenging and
strongly evolving field of earthquake engineering.
The author w ould like to thank, above all, the num er-
ous photographs contributors m entioned at the end of
the booklet, w ho have m ade available the results of
extensive and often dangerous efforts. Thanks are also
extended to the Federal O ffice for W ater and G eology
and the Sw iss A gency for D evelopm ent and C oopera-
tion for editing and carefully printing this docum ent.
Zurich, D ecem ber 2002 Prof. H ugo Bachm ann
Authors Preface
For a long tim e earthquake risk w as considered
unavoidable. It w as accepted that buildings w ould be
dam aged as a result of an earthquakes ground shak-
ing. Preventive m easures for earthquakes w ere there-
fore m ostly lim ited to disaster m anagem ent prepared-
ness. A lthough m easures related to construction
m ethods had already been proposed at the beginning
of the 20th century, it is only during the last decades
that im proved and intensified research has revealed
how to effectively reduce the vulnerability of structures
to earthquakes.
The objective of this docum ent is to present recent
know ledge on earthquake protection m easures for
buildings in a sim ple and easy to understand m anner.
3
Basic principles for engineers, architects, building ow ners, and authorities
Editors Preface
W orldw ide earthquakes cause regularly large econom ic
losses - Kobe in 1995 w ith m ore than 6000 causalities,
counted for 100 Billion U S$ of econom ic loss. Earth-
quakes are unavoidable. Reducing disaster risk is a top
priority not only for engineers and disaster m anagers,
but also for developm ent planners and policy-m akers
around the w orld. D isaster and risk reduction are an
essential part of sustainable developm ent.
O n D ecem ber 11 2000, the Sw iss Federal C ouncil
approved for federal buildings a seven-point program
running from 2001 to 2004 for earthquake dam age
prevention. The earthquake resistance of new
structures is a high priority in the C onfederations
seven-point program . The author of this publication,
Professor H ugo Bachm ann, has devoted m any years to
the study of seism ic risk and behavior of buildings
subjected to earthquakes. A t the request of the
FO W G , w hich expresses its gratitude to him , he agreed
to m ake available his extensive scientific know ledge on
earthquake resistance of buildings. These guidelines
are designed to contribute to the transfer of research
results into building practice. These results m ust be
taken into account by the design professionals, thus
ensuring a reasonable earthquake resistance for new
structures at little or no additional cost.
SD C w ould like to contribute to the dissem ination of
know ledge on seism ic design of buildings by translat-
ing this FW O G publication in English and thus extend-
ing its readership am ong construction professionals.
SD C intends to gather available experience in the
dom ains of construction and prevention of natural
hazards and technical risks and to m ake it accessible to
the practitioners in developing and transition countries
in an easy to understand form .
Biel, D ecem ber 2002
D r C hristian Furrer
D irector of the Federal O ffice
for W ater and G eology (FO W G )
Bern, D ecem ber 2002
A m bassador W alter Fuest
D irector of the Sw iss A gency
for D evelopm ent and C ooperation (SD C )
