Lack of periodic restoration and maintenance of structures is the major cause of structural weakness
Photo: THT
Himalayan News Service
Kathmandu
Many traditional buildings either collapsed or were partially damaged by the deadly earthquake of April 25. After the quake people have developed the feeling that a reinforced concrete building is much durable and quake resistant than traditionally built buildings. However, experts stated that both traditional as well as modern buildings can be durable and earthquake resistant if built adopting seismic resistant technology.
Any
structure built violating or without taking care of the engineering
norms are vulnerable to possible damage by quakes. Professionals stated
that even masonry buildings following norms can last for many decades.
However, such structures build by neglecting structural strengthening,
addition of stories without considering its capacity to bear load are
the main cause for their collapse.
There is a clear indication that lack of periodic restoration and maintenance of structures had a major affect on the endurance of structures during earthquake.
“People were not aware about periodic structural strengthening and
retrofitting of their houses,” said Senior Structural Engineer Rajan
Suwal stressing on the need to have a periodic study on the condition of
structures and conducting restoration with updated traditional
techniques to sustain the buildings. According to him, the government
should learn a lesson from the past and should work to strengthen the
existing buildings.
“One should not feel that traditional
buildings are weaker than reinforced buildings as both structures have
withstood and collapsed as well during the quake,” Suwal said, adding
that it depends on the techniques being used to construct the building. He stressed on the need to restore traditional buildings to preserve the essence of the culture.
Citing
that there could be shortage of required construction materials like
timber, traditional styled bricks, mud with workmanship to rebuild
massive structures, Suwal said, “The government should give priority to
reconstruction and give subsidies if anyone wants to build their
residential houses in a traditional way.” Stating that there is a lack
of skilled manpower to work with traditional structures, he said, “If
the government prioritises work and provides training, the available
resources will be enough to work promptly.”
“The raw
material and quality of products are a challenge to build masonry
buildings,” he said, adding that timber being expensive, the government
should work to make it accessible. According to him, constructing
traditional house becomes 25 per cent more expensive than constructing
using reinforced building.
Researcher in Structural
Earthquake Engineering Dipendra Gautam said that reuse of rubble can
contribute to restoration of traditional buildings. “We have found that
the majority of masonry buildings failed to tie middle walls and front
walls and that resulted in their fall,” he said, adding, “In this
regard, if the binding component is done properly, most traditional
buildings can be safe and long-lasting.” Moreover, he said that
introducing seismic strengthening technology to abide two walls with
steel rebars can increase the durability and sustainability of the
building.
According to Gautam, the government should
conduct special research on typical Nepali styled traditional masonry
buildings as the National Building Code lacks specific parameters and
design. Pointing out that there lacks timely maintenance and repair
works on traditional buildings, he said, “It is very important to
elongate the life of these buildings. And the other silly mistake that
we all make is haphazardly piling up storeys, which weakens the
building.”
Citing that the traditional look of heritage
sites and the city is important for preservation of the ancient art and
architecture, he said, “The government should focus on maintaining
traditional buildings and take out the framework to reuse available
construction materials and seismic strengthening technology.”
Published on September 5, 2015, The Himalayan Times THT Property Plus
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