Seismic Stabilization of Historic Adobe Structures

Final Report of the Getty Seismic Adobe Project

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

A description of the design, experimental procedures and results of the Getty Seismic Adobe Project, which set out to identify and evaluate methods for the seismic protection of historical and culturally significant Adobe structures. The book identifies typical failure modes of adobe structures and outlines retrofitting techniques applicable to minimize these failures. Photographic documentation illustrates the effects of retrofitting on the models tested.

About the Author

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 is a senior conservation research scientist at the Getty Conservation Institute and was project director of GSAP. Tolles, Webster, and Kimbro are coauthors, with Anthony Crosby, of Survey of Damage to HistoricAdobe Buildings after the January 1994 Northridge Earthquake.

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