Puerto Rican architect found inspiration in the human skeleton for the design of a novel antiseismic and sustainable structural system of reinforced concrete

Recent tragedies, such as in Japan and Lorca, Spain; demonstrate that even the most prepared and alert, or the fine urban planned territories could be seriously affected by the strike of a large earthquake and its many implications. Even the strongest construction materials, such as reinforced concrete, become vulnerable because of the scourge of the seismic wave. Although, a lot of investigations study the mechanical properties of concrete material and retrofitting techniques for reinforced concrete (RC) structures, there isn’t significant research about RC structural system and its seismic adaptation. This preoccupation guided Architect Wilfredo Méndez (AIT) to propose his Master of architecture thesis Principles of a Biotectonic Culture at the School of Architecture at the University of Puerto Rico. The thesis is a structural design guide based on principles of biological adaptation for reinforced concrete morphologies.

Using Biomimicry as the theoretical platform, Wilfredo seeks to define structural design strategies that reduce the seismic vulnerability of RC structures. He uses Puerto Rico as his case study because the geographical similarity to many other territories in the Caribbean and Latin America. Puerto Rico is an island threatened by earthquakes because of its location over the Caribbean tectonic plate. In fact, according to the 1997 Uniform Building Code the island was classified as Zone 3 (High vulnerability). However, the government emergency agencies in Puerto Rico insist in minimize the importance of the Island’s seismic vulnerability. Moreover, recently the government administration announced the construction of a natural gas pipeline throughout many urban areas of the Island. It’s extensively known that this kind of pipeline would represent a serious technological risk because of the zone’s potential seismic hazard. The Island’s urban planning lack adaptation with its contextual geological properties.

Another example of this hazardous trend is that in Puerto Rico more than 80 percent of the housing units, along with the island’s major infrastructure, are located in areas vulnerable to liquefaction and amplification of the seismic waves and seismic intensity on the building structure. This kind of incongruence could also be found in the structural design paradigm of the construction industry in Puerto Rico. Concrete building overweight, for instance, becomes the most important incongruence between the structural design paradigm and the Island’s seismic activity.

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