Assessment of the seismic vulnerability of the building stock in the earthquake-prone Marmara region of Turkey is of growing importance since such information is needed for reliable estimation of the losses that possible future earthquakes are likely to induce. The outcome of such loss assessment exercises can be used in planning of urban/regional-scale earthquake protection strategies; this is a priority in Turkey, particularly following the destructive earthquakes of 1999. Considering the size of the building inventory, Istanbul and its surrounding area is a case for which it is not easy to determine the structural properties and characteristics of the building stock. In this paper, geometrical, functional and material properties of the building stock in the northern Marmara Region, particularly around Istanbul, have been investigated and evaluated for use in loss estimation models and other types of statistic- or probability-based studies. In order to do that, the existing reinforced concrete (RC) stock has been classified as 'compliant' or 'non-compliant' buildings, dual (frame-wall) or frame structures and emergent or embedded-beam systems. In addition to the statistical parameters such as mean values, standard deviations, etc., probability density functions and their goodness-of-fit have also been investigated for all types of parameters. Functionalities such as purpose of use and floor area properties have been defined. Concrete properties of existing and recently constructed buildings and also characteristics of 220 and 420 MPa types of steel have been documented. Finally, the financial effects of retrofitting operations and damage repair have been investigated. © 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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This paper investigates the limits and efficacies of the Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) material for strengthening mid-rise RC buildings against seismic actions. Turkey, the region of the highest seismic risk in Europe, is chosen as the case-study country, the building stock of which consists in its vast majority of mid-rise RC residential and/or commercial buildings. Strengthening with traditional methods is usually applied in most projects, as ordinary construction materials and no specialized workmanship are required. However, in cases of tight time constraints, architectural limitations, durability issues or higher demand for ductile performance, FRP material is often opted for since the most recent Turkish Earthquake Code allows engineers to employ this advanced-technology product to overcome issues of inadequate ductility or shear capacity of existing RC buildings. The paper compares strengthening of a characteristically typical mid-rise Turkish RC building by two methods, i.e., traditional column jacketing and FRP strengthening, evaluating their effectiveness with respect to the requirements of the Turkish Earthquake Code. The effect of FRP confinement is explicitly taken into account in the numerical model, unlike the common procedure followed according to which the demand on un-strengthened members is established and then mere section analyses are employed to meet the additional demands.
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DBELA is a Displacement-Based Earthquake Loss Assessment methodology for urban areas which relates the displacement capacity of the building stock to the displacement demand from earthquake scenarios. The building stock is modeled as a random population of building classes with varying geometrical and material properties. The period of vibration of each building in the random population is calculated using a simplified equation based on the height of the building and building type, whilst the displacement capacity at different limit states is predicted using simple equations which are a function of the randomly simulated geometrical and material properties. The displacement capacity of each building is then compared to the displacement demand obtained, from an over-damped displacement spectrum, using its period of vibration; the proportion of buildings which exceed each damage state can thus be estimated. DBELA has been calibrated to the Turkish building stock following the collection of a large database of structural characteristics of buildings from the northern Marmara region. The probabilistic distributions for each of the structural characteristics (e.g. story height, steel properties etc.) have been defined using the aforementioned database. The methodology has then been applied to predict preliminary damage distributions and social losses for the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality for a Mw 7.5 scenario earthquake.
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Dealing with and maintaining high-quality standards in the design and construction phases is challenging, especially for on-site construction. Issues like improper implementation of building components and poor communication can widen the gap between design specifications and actual conditions. To prevent this, particularly for energy-efficient buildings, it is vital to develop resilient, sustainable strategies. These should optimize resource use, minimize environmental impact, and enhance livability, contributing to carbon neutrality by 2050 and climate change mitigation. Traditional post-occupancy evaluations, which identify defects after construction, are impractical for addressing energy performance gaps. A new, real-time inspection approach is necessary throughout the construction process. This paper suggests an innovative guideline for prefabricated buildings, emphasizing digital ‘self-instruction’ and ‘self-inspection’. These procedures ensure activities impacting quality adhere to specific instructions, drawings, and 3D models, incorporating the relevant acceptance criteria to verify completion. This methodology, promoting alignment with planned energy-efficient features, is supported by BIM-based software and Augmented Reality (AR) tools, embodying Industry 4.0 principles. BIM (Building Information Modeling) and AR bridge the gap between virtual design and actual construction, improving stakeholder communication and enabling real-time monitoring and adjustments. This integration fosters accuracy and efficiency, which are key for energy-efficient and nearly zero-energy buildings, marking a shift towards a more precise, collaborative, and environmentally sensible construction industry.
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Kahramanmaraş Earthquake Sequence of 6th of February is the deadliest earthquake that happened in Turkey in the era of instrumental seismology, claiming more than 55 thousand lives and leaving torn down cities and towns behind. More than 450 km long lateral strike-slip fault ruptured during these catastrophic earthquakes. As a result, more than 38 thousand buildings collapsed causing life losses. Considering that the large share of the Turkish building stock consists of RC buildings, the vulnerable RC building stock is the main responsible for this picture. Deficiencies of the Turkish RC building stock are well known since they manifested themselves several times in the past earthquakes. However, considering the improvements in the seismic codes and the seismic hazard maps achieved in the last two decades, the widespread collapse of buildings constructed after year 2000 was rather unexpected. Some of the observed structural damage patterns are similar to those observed also in the pre-2000 buildings in recent earthquakes, however, some other types of damages, such as out-of-plane bending and shear failures or shear-friction capacity failure of RC walls, brittle fracture and bond-slip failure of reinforcement, tension failure of beams and slabs are usually not witnessed. This paper presents a carefully selected set of examples comparing the pre-2000 and post-2000 building damages and collapses, also referring to a detailed summary and comparison of the code developments in Turkey.
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One of the most complex and urgent challenges in the energy transition is the large‐scale refurbishment of the existing housing stock in the built environment. In order to comply with the goals of the Paris convention, the aim is to live “energy‐neutral,’’ that is, a dwelling should produce as much sustainable energy as it consumes on a yearly basis. This means that millions of existing houses need to undergo a radical energy retrofit. In the next 30 years, all dwellings should be upgraded to nearly zero‐energy buildings, which is a challenge to accomplish for a reasonable price. Across the EU, many projects have developed successful approaches to the improvement of building technologies and processes, as well a better involvement of citizens. It is important to compare and contrast such approaches and disseminate lessons learned.In practice, it is crucial to raise the level of participation of inhabitants in neighborhood renovation activities. Therefore,the central question of this issue is: How can we increase the involvement of tenants and homeowners into this radicalenergy renovation?
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One of the most complex and urgent challenges in the energy transition is the large-scale refurbishment of the existing housing stock in the built environment. In order to comply with the goals of the Paris convention, the aim is to live “energy-neutral,” that is, a dwelling should produce as much sustainable energy as it consumes on a yearly basis. This means that millions of existing houses need to undergo a radical energy retrofit. In the next 30 years, all dwellings should be upgraded to nearly zero-energy buildings, which is a challenge to accomplish for a reasonable price. Across the EU, many projects have developed successful approaches to the improvement of building technologies and processes, as well a better involvement of citizens. It is important to compare and contrast such approaches and disseminate lessons learned. In practice, it is crucial to raise the level of participation of inhabitants in neighborhood renovation activities. Therefore, the central question of this issue is: How can we increase the involvement of tenants and homeowners into this radical energy renovation?
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Although there is an array of technical solutions available for retrofitting the building stock, the uptake of these by owner‐occupants in home improvement activities is lagging. Energy performance improvement is not included in maintenance, redecoration, and/or upgrading activities on a scale necessary to achieve the CO2 reduction aimed for in the built environment. Owner‐occupants usually adapt their homes in response to everyday concerns, such as having enough space available, increasing comfort levels, or adjusting arrangements to future‐proof their living conditions. Home energy improvements should be offered accordingly. Retrofit providers typically offer energy efficiency strategies and/or options for renewable energy generation only and tend to gloss over home comfort and homemaking as key considerations in decision‐making for home energy improvement. In fact, retrofit providers struggle with the tension between customisation requirements from private homeowners and demand aggregation to streamline their supply chains and upscale their retrofit projects. Customer satisfaction is studied in three different Dutch approaches to retrofit owner‐occupied dwellings to increase energy efficiency. For the analysis, a customer satisfaction framework is used that makes a distinction between satisfiers, dissatisfiers, criticals, and neutrals. This framework makes it possible to identify and structure different relevant factors from the perspective of owner‐occupants, allows visualising gaps with the professional perspective, and can assist to improve current propositions.
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Studies on city‐building games as educational tools show positive results in addressing different learning objectives, but also identify a missing link to reality, as they are mostly computer‐based. Given the differences between existing games and their capabilities, the exact function of these games in an urban planning curriculum is unclear. The city‐building game Cities: Skylines currently has three different versions (Digital, Tabletop, VR). Through an affordance analysis of the game’s three versions, this study analyses how the versions afford four primary knowledge dimensions, and in doing so identifies different educational applications for each version of Cities: Skylines in different planning disciplines. The results show that: (a) the board game is strong in fostering player participation and critical thinking more suited for the social and health studies, public policy, and citizen participation domains of urban planning; (b) the digital version functions as moddable simulator, ensuring familiarity with existing systems and monitoring their effects, useful in logistics and transportation planning; (c) the VR form viscerally involves players in the simulated processes, applicable in design‐focused segments of urban planning, such as sustainable design theory, housing, and land‐use management. The results of this study can help urban planning educators identify possible uses for different versions of Cities: Skylines.
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