Old Concrete, New Rules: Making Sense of San Francisco’s Concrete Ordinance
Non-ductile concrete (NDC) and rigid wall flexible diaphragm (RWFD) buildings have been identified as some of the most seismically vulnerable existing structures, with a history of poor performance in major earthquakes. Many California cities have passed voluntary and mandatory retrofit programs over the years to mitigate seismic risk for other building types, including the wood soft-story retrofit programs implemented by Los Angeles and San Francisco circa 2013. Recently, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed, and the mayor approved, an ordinance amending the San Francisco Existing Building Code to assess the city’s inventory of seismically vulnerable concrete and RWFD buildings and adopt voluntary seismic retrofit standards for these structures. This webinar will provide building owners, developers, architects, and other stakeholders with the knowledge to navigate the new ordinance and understand what it means for their buildings.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After attending this webinar, participants will be able to:
- Understand what NDC and RWFD buildings are.
- Recognize the seismic deficiencies these buildings may have.
- Identify the requirements of the new San Francisco concrete ordinance.
- Understand the voluntary seismic retrofit options that San Francisco ordinance allows.
Participants will earn 1 AIA CES Learning Unit (LU/HSW) for attending the webinar. Registration is free. Please note that space is limited – email events@sgh.com to join our waitlist if the session is closed when you register.
About the Speaker
Anindya Dutta specializes in structural and earthquake engineering. He has analyzed and designed a variety of structures in high-seismic zones. His experience also includes seismic evaluation and strengthening of low- to high-rise structures. He has taught graduate and undergraduate-level courses on concrete design and structural analysis and serves as part-time faculty at multiple institutions. He is also a member of various technical committees and has coauthored numerous technical reports and journal papers.
Keith Palmer is an experienced structural engineer and researcher. His work as a practitioner includes designing new museums, churches, hospitals, and community buildings, and conducting seismic performance assessments and upgrades of existing buildings. Keith specializes in forensic engineering, new building design, construction engineering and seismic evaluation and retrofits. He is the past chair of the Existing Buildings Committee of the Structural Engineers Association of Northern California and was a technical peer reviewer of the SF Concrete Ordinance.
Kenneth Tam is an experienced structural engineer with a diverse array of project experience, including structural design, evaluation, and seismic retrofit of wood, steel, tilt-up, and reinforced-concrete buildings. Much of his work focuses on providing seismic assessment and retrofit services for buildings in high-seismic areas.
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