Seismic Stabilization of Historic Adobe Structures: Final Report of the Getty Seismic Adobe Project

E. Leroy Tolles, Edna E. Kimbro, Frederick A. Webster, and William S. Ginell

This book describes tests performed on model adobe buildings to evaluate seismic damage mitigation techniques applicable to the retrofitting of historic and culturally significant adobe structures. Part of the Getty Seismic Adobe Project (GSAP), the three-year program outlined in this volume was designed to develop and test minimally invasive, inexpensive, and easily implemented methods of protecting such structures from severe earthquake damage. Small- and large-scale models were tested on computer-controlled shaking tables at Stanford University and at the IIZIS Earthquake Engineering Laboratory in the Republic of Macedonia, respectively. The authors identify typical failure modes of adobe structures and describe specific retrofit techniques to help minimize such failures. Extensive photographic documentation is included.

E. Leroy Tolles is a structural engineer with ELT & Associates and was principal investigator for GSAP. Edna E. Kimbro is an architectural conservator and historian specializing in the preservation of Hispanic-era buildings and material culture. Frederick A. Webster is a civil engineer who specializes in design, repair, and retrofitting of historic buildings. William S. Ginell, now retired, was a senior scientist at the Getty Conservation Institute. Tolles, Webster, and Kimbro are coauthors, with Anthony Crosby, of Survey of Damage to Historic Adobe Buildings after the January 1994 Northridge Earthquake.

Related Getty Conservation Institute projects: Seismic Stabilization of Historic Structures