Katcha is Pucca & Pucca is Katcha
How one of the oldest known construction typologies
may be key to preventing pancake collapse of
modern reinforced concrete buildings in earthquakes. 

A lecture
by
Randolph Langenbach
at the World Bank on December 6, 2011

This slide presentation explores a comparison between traditional forms of construction and the most common contemporary construction type now used throughout much of the world – reinforced concrete with infill masonry. The session will discuss how one of the traditional construction typologies could form the basis for possible collapse-prevention improvements to standard reinforced concrete construction in earthquake areas, such as Sikkim, India, Van, Turkey, as well as earlier in Haiti and other parts of the world where many modern buildings have suffered pancake collapse.


video hosted by Vimeo.com

Also available on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B57Nn71kbZA



PAPERS RELATED TO THE TOPIC OF THE LECTURE
2008 (3) pdf iconLearning from the Past to Protext the Future: Armature Crosswalls, Engineering Structures, Elsevier. Vol. 30, No. 8, August 2008, pp 2096-2100

2006 (2) pdf icon2006, Co-authors: Randolph Langenbach, Khalid Mosalam, Sinan Akarsu, Alberto Dusi; ARMATURE CROSSWALLS: A Proposed Methodology to Improve the Seismic Performance of Non-ductile Reinforced Concrete Infill Frame Structures, 8th U.S. National Conference on Earthquake Engineering (8NCEE), San Francisco 1906 anniversary, 2006.

PHOTO ESSAY: Portuguese Pombalino "Gaiola" Construction revealed during renovation work in Lisbon, Portugal, January, 2003.

RESEARCH PROJECT DESCRIPTION: Armature Crosswall Research Project proposal


2011 (1) pdf iconKeynote Address Paper Ancient Construction Technologies that can Protect Modern Buildings From Collapse in Earthquakes, Proceedings of CICOP Pre-conference of the of the Biennale of the Architectural and Urban Spaces (BRAU), The 4th International Conference on Hazards and Modern Heritage, Sarajevo, June 13-16, 2011.  0.6mb
2006 (1) pdf icon2006 "SAGA OF THE HALF-TIMBERED SKYSCRAPER: What Does Half-Timbered Construction have to do with the Chicago Frame," Proceedings of the Second International Congress on Construction History, Cambridge University, UK, 2006

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
on
FORENSIC ENGINEERING
FAILURE DIAGNOSIS AND PROBLEM SOLVING
6th to 9th December 2007
 Mumbai, India

2007 (2) pdf iconPreventing Pancake Collapses: Lessons from Earthquake-Resistant Traditional Construction for Modern Buildings of Reinforced Concrete, Keynote Address, INDIA CHAPTER OF AMERICAN CONCRETE INSTITUTE, 2007
 
2006 (3) pdf iconPREVENTING PANCAKE COLLAPSES: Lessons from Earthquake-Resistant Traditional Construction for Modern Buildings of Reinforced Concrete, Proceedings of the 2006 ICCROM Special Workshop on the Integration of traditional knowledge systems and cultural heritage into risk management, at the International Disaster Reduction Conference (IDRC), Davos, August, 2006. (3MB)
 
2010 (2) pdf iconKeynote Address paperRescuing the Baby from the Bathwater:
Traditional Masonry as Earthquake-Resistant Construction
, , 8th International Masonry Conference, Dresden Germany, July, 2010.
2004 (3) 2004 “The Earthquake Resistance of Timber and Masonry Buildings in Turkey,” co-author with Polat Gulkan, Proceedings of the 13th World Conference on Earthquake Engineering, Vancouver, August, 2004.  (1.1 MG)

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M-Arch (Harvard), Dipl.Conservation (York, England)


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