World Housing Encyclopedia

an Encyclopedia of Housing Construction in

Seismically Active Areas of the World

an initiative of
Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI) and
International Association for Earthquake Engineering (IAEE)

HOUSING REPORT
Multistory reinforced concrete frame building

Report # 15
Report Date 05-06-2002
Country GREECE
Housing Type RC Moment Frame Building
Housing Sub-Type RC Moment Frame Building : Dual System - Frame with Shear Wall
Author(s) T. P. Tassios, Kostas Syrmakezis
Reviewer(s) Craig D. Comartin

Important
This encyclopedia contains information contributed by various earthquake engineering professionals around the
world. All opinions, findings, conclusions & recommendations expressed herein are those of the various
participants, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute, the
International Association for Earthquake Engineering, the Engineering Information Foundation, John A. Martin
& Associates, Inc. or the participants' organizations.

Summary

These buildings represent a typical multi-family residential construction, mainly found in the Greek
suburbs. This housing type is very common and constitutes approximately 30% of the entire
housing stock in Greece. Buildings are generally medium-rise, typically 4 to 5 stories high. The main
lateral load-resisting structure is a dual system, consisting of reinforced concrete columns and shear
walls. A relatively small-sized reinforced concrete core is usually present and serves as an elevator
shaft. The roof and floor structures consist of rigid concrete slabs supported by the beams. Seismic
performance of these buildings is generally good, provided that the seismic design takes into

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 account the soft ground floor effects, e.g., by installing strong RC shear walls. Failure of the soft
ground floor is the most common type of damage for this type of structure. Some buildings of this
type were damaged in the 1999 Athens earthquake.

1. General Information
Buildings of this construction type can be found in the main cities of the country, at an estimated percentage of 30% on
the entire housing stock. This type of housing construction is commonly found in urban areas. This construction type
has been in practice for less than 25 years.

Currently, this type of construction is being built. .

Figure 1: Typical Building

2. Architectural Aspects
2.1 Siting
These buildings are typically found in flat, sloped and hilly terrain. They do not share common walls with adjacent
buildings. When separated from adjacent buildings, the typical distance from a neighboring building is 10 meters.

2.2 Building Configuration

Typical shape of a building plan is rectangular. Such a building has 12-15 openings per floor, of an average size of 3.0
m². Estimated percentage of opening area to the total wall surface is 25%. Infill walls are generally not considered in the
design.

2.3 Functional Planning

The main function of this building typology is multi-family housing. In a typical building of this type, there are no
elevators and 1-2 fire-protected exit staircases. Commonly an additional exit stairway for the emergency escape does
not exist.

2.4 Modification to Building

Usually demolition of interior infill walls.

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 Figure 2: Plan of a Typical Building

3. Structural Details
3.1 Structural System

Material Type of Load-Bearing Structure # Subtypes Most appropriate type

Rubble stone (field stone) in mud/lime
1 mortar or without mortar (usually with
Stone Masonry timber roof)
Walls
Dressed stone masonry (in
2
lime/cement mortar)
3 Mud walls
4 Mud walls with horizontal wood elements
Adobe/ Earthen Walls
5 Adobe block walls
6 Rammed earth/Pise construction
Brick masonry in mud/lime
7
mortar
Masonry
Brick masonry in mud/lime
8
Unreinforced masonry mortar with vertical posts
walls Brick masonry in lime/cement
9
mortar
Concrete block masonry in
10
cement mortar
Clay brick/tile masonry, with
11
wooden posts and beams
Clay brick masonry, with
Confined masonry 12 concrete posts/tie columns
and beams
13 Concrete blocks, tie columns

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 and beams
Stone masonry in cement
14
mortar
Clay brick masonry in cement
Reinforced masonry 15
mortar
Concrete block masonry in
16
cement mortar
17 Flat slab structure
Designed for gravity loads
18
only, with URM infill walls
Moment resisting Designed for seismic effects,
19
frame with URM infill walls
Designed for seismic effects,
20
with structural infill walls
Dual system – Frame with
21
shear wall
Moment frame with in-situ
22
Structural concrete Structural wall shear walls
Moment frame with precast
23
shear walls
24 Moment frame
Prestressed moment frame
25
with shear walls

Precast concrete 26 Large panel precast walls

Shear wall structure with
27
walls cast-in-situ
Shear wall structure with
28
precast wall panel structure
29 With brick masonry partitions
Moment-resisting With cast in-situ concrete
30
frame walls
31 With lightweight partitions
Concentric connections in all
Steel 32
panels
Braced frame
Eccentric connections in a
33
few panels
34 Bolted plate
Structural wall
35 Welded plate
36 Thatch
Walls with bamboo/reed mesh
37
and post (Wattle and Daub)
Masonry with horizontal
38 beams/planks at intermediate
levels
Load-bearing timber Post and beam frame (no
Timber 39
frame special connections)
Wood frame (with special
40
connections)
Stud-wall frame with
41 plywood/gypsum board
sheathing
42 Wooden panel walls
43 Building protected with base-isolation systems
Seismic protection systems Building protected with
Other 44
seismic dampers
Hybrid systems 45 other (described below)

3.2 Gravity Load-Resisting System

The vertical load-resisting system is reinforced concrete moment resisting frame. The gravity load-bearing structure
consists of RC solid slabs, transferring the gravity loads to the beams and columns and finally to the footings.

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3.3 Lateral Load-Resisting System
The lateral load-resisting system is reinforced concrete structural walls (with frame). The main lateral load-resisting
system consists of reinforced concrete shear walls. The stiffness of brick infill walls is generally not considered in the
design, however self-weight of brick walls is taken into account. The lateral drift of the structure is governed by the
stiffness of its columns and walls. The 3-D response of the frame under earthquake actions is strongly affected by the
column and wall layout. The walls located at the perimeter of the building in both directions contribute to minimizing
the torsional effects. Floor slabs behave as diaphragms during a seismic event.

3.4 Building Dimensions

The typical plan dimensions of these buildings are: lengths between 10 and 10 meters, and widths between 15 and 15
meters. The building has 4 to 6 storey(s). The typical span of the roofing/flooring system is 4 meters. Typical Span:
Span variation is 3.5-4.5 m. The typical storey height in such buildings is 3.0 meters. The typical structural wall
density is up to 5 %. Total wall area/plan area (for each floor) 3-4%.

3.5 Floor and Roof System

Material Description of floor/roof system Most appropriate floor Most appropriate roof
Vaulted
Masonry Composite system of concrete joists and
masonry panels
Solid slabs (cast-in-place)
Waffle slabs (cast-in-place)
Flat slabs (cast-in-place)
Precast joist system
Structural concrete
Hollow core slab (precast)
Solid slabs (precast)
Beams and planks (precast) with concrete
topping (cast-in-situ)
Slabs (post-tensioned)
Composite steel deck with concrete slab
Steel
(cast-in-situ)
Rammed earth with ballast and concrete or
plaster finishing
Wood planks or beams with ballast and concrete or plaster finishing
Thatched roof supported on wood purlins
Wood shingle roof

Timber Wood planks or beams that support clay tiles

Wood planks or beams supporting natural
stones slates
Wood planks or beams that support slate,
metal, asbestos-cement or plastic corrugated
sheets or tiles
Wood plank, plywood or manufactured wood
panels on joists supported by beams or walls
Other Described below

3.6 Foundation

Type Description Most appropriate type

Wall or column embedded in
soil, without footing

Rubble stone, fieldstone

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 isolated footing
Rubble stone, fieldstone strip
footing
Reinforced-concrete isolated
Shallow foundation footing
Reinforced-concrete strip
footing
Mat foundation
No foundation
Reinforced-concrete bearing
piles
Reinforced-concrete skin
friction piles
Steel bearing piles
Deep foundation
Steel skin friction piles
Wood piles
Cast-in-place concrete piers
Caissons
Other Described below

Figure 3: Key Load-bearing Elements Figure 4: Critical Structural Details

4. Socio-Economic Aspects
4.1 Number of Housing Units and Inhabitants
Each building typically has 10-20 housing unit(s). 16 units in each building. The number of inhabitants in a building
during the day or business hours is 5-10. The number of inhabitants during the evening and night is more than 20.

4.2 Patterns of Occupancy

1 family per housing unit.

4.3 Economic Level of Inhabitants

Income class Most appropriate type

a) very low-income class (very poor)
b) low-income class (poor)
c) middle-income class
d) high-income class (rich)

Ratio 'House Price/Annual Income' is usually more than 4.

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 Ratio of housing unit price to annual income Most appropriate type
5:1 or worse
4:1
3:1
1:1 or better

What is a typical source of

financing for buildings of this Most appropriate type
type?
Owner financed
Personal savings
Informal network: friends and
relatives
Small lending institutions / micro-
finance institutions
Commercial banks/mortgages
Employers
Investment pools
Government-owned housing
Combination (explain below)
other (explain below)

In each housing unit, there are 2 bathroom(s) without toilet(s), no toilet(s) only and 2 bathroom(s) including toilet
(s).

In some housing units there is only 1 bathroom. .

4.4 Ownership
The type of ownership or occupancy is renting and individual ownership.

Type of ownership or
Most appropriate type
occupancy?
Renting
outright ownership
Ownership with debt (mortgage
or other)
Individual ownership
Ownership by a group or pool of
persons
Long-term lease
other (explain below)

5. Seismic Vulnerability
5.1 Structural and Architectural Features
Structural/ Most appropriate type
Architectural Statement
Feature True False N/A
The structure contains a complete load path for seismic
force effects from any horizontal direction that serves
Lateral load path
to transfer inertial forces from the building to the
foundation.

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Building The building is regular with regards to both the plan
Configuration and the elevation.
The roof diaphragm is considered to be rigid and it is
expected that the roof structure will maintain its
Roof construction
integrity, i.e. shape and form, during an earthquake of
intensity expected in this area.
The floor diaphragm(s) are considered to be rigid and it
is expected that the floor structure(s) will maintain its
Floor construction
integrity during an earthquake of intensity expected in
this area.
There is no evidence of excessive foundation movement
Foundation
(e.g. settlement) that would affect the integrity or
performance
performance of the structure in an earthquake.
Wall and frame
The number of lines of walls or frames in each principal
structures-
direction is greater than or equal to 2.
redundancy
Height-to-thickness ratio of the shear walls at each floor level is:

Less than 25 (concrete walls);

Wall proportions
Less than 30 (reinforced masonry walls);

Less than 13 (unreinforced masonry walls);

Vertical load-bearing elements (columns, walls)
Foundation-wall are attached to the foundations; concrete
connection columns and walls are doweled into the
foundation.
Exterior walls are anchored for out-of-plane seismic
Wall-roof
effects at each diaphragm level with metal anchors or
connections
straps
The total width of door and window openings in a wall
is:

For brick masonry construction in cement mortar : less

than ½ of the distance between the adjacent cross
walls;
Wall openings
For adobe masonry, stone masonry and brick masonry
in mud mortar: less than 1/3 of the distance between
the adjacent cross
walls;

For precast concrete wall structures: less than 3/4 of

the length of a perimeter wall.
Quality of building materials is considered to be
Quality of building materials adequate per the requirements of national codes and
standards (an estimate).
Quality of workmanship (based on visual inspection of
Quality of workmanship few typical buildings) is considered to be good (per
local construction standards).
Buildings of this type are generally well maintained and there
Maintenance are no visible signs of deterioration of building
elements (concrete, steel, timber)
Other

5.2 Seismic Features

Structural
Seismic Deficiency Earthquake Resilient Features Earthquake Damage Patterns
Element
Clay brick infill with low tensile The presence of minimum RC Cracking in shear walls of the elevator shaft (1999 Athens
Wall
strength. Non-uniform wall shear walls (a Code requirement)
earthquake), see Figure 5F.
distribution (in elevation or in plan) led to an improved structural
may create problems related to performance
seismic performance.
Frame -Lack of lateral confinement -Capacity design of beam-column Joint failure in poorly constructed structures. Damage to
(columns, joints ensures ductile behavior of column-beam joints due to bad concrete quality and insufficient
(stirrups) in the columns.
beams) the structure -Good seismic reinforcement was observed in the 1999 Athens earthquake
performance on condition of (EERI). In many cases, stirrup reinforcement was almost
careful detailing during design and
nonexistent (see Figures 5D and 5E).
construction after the application of

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 the 1985 Code.
Roof and floors Rigid diaphragms (insignificant
relative in-plane displacements).
Irregular Soft story at the ground floor level. In the 1999 Athens earthquake, the Soft ground floor (where there is an absence of infill walls at the
Stiffness Buildings with a soft ground floor soft-story effect was more ground floor) may cause damage, leading to the development of
Distribution - are a common practice in Greece. pronounced in buildings without collapse mechanisms. In the 1999 Athens earthquake, the
Soft Ground Significantly less rigidity in this shear walls (EERI). damage occurred mainly to the joints, which were totally
Floor floor, compared to the rest of the destroyed in a number of cases. As a result, the structural system
building, leads to large deformations became a mechanism, and large permanent horizontal
displacements were observed. In some cases, collapse of the soft
of the soft story (EERI).
story was occasioned by P-d effect, combined with high vertical
accelerations (EERI).

5.3 Overall Seismic Vulnerability Rating

The overall rating of the seismic vulnerability of the housing type is E: LOW VULNERABILITY (i.e., very good seismic
performance), the lower bound (i.e., the worst possible) is D: MEDIUM-LOW VULNERABILITY (i.e., good seismic
performance), and the upper bound (i.e., the best possible) is F: VERY LOW VULNERABILITY (i.e., excellent seismic
performance).

Vulnerability high medium-high medium medium-low low very low

very poor poor moderate good very good excellent
Vulnerability A B C D E F
Class

5.4 History of Past Earthquakes

Date Epicenter, region Magnitude Max. Intensity

1981 Athens
6.1
1996 Aegion MSK
5.9
1999 Athens IX (MSK)

On September 7, 1999, at 14:56 local time, a strong earthquake occurred 18 km northwest of the center of Athens. The
earthquake was magnitude ?s =5.9 and the coordinates of the epicenter were located at 38.12?-23.64?, in the area of
Parnitha mountain. This earthquake came as a surprise, since no seismic activity was recorded in this region for the last
200 years. According to strong-motion recordings, the range of significant frequencies is approximately 1.5-10 Hz,
while the range of the horizontal peak ground acceleration were between 0.04 to 0.36g. The most heavily damaged areas
lie within a 15 km radius from the epicenter. The consequences of the earthquake were significant: 143 people died and
more than 700 were injured. The structural damage was also significant, since 2,700 buildings were destroyed or were
damaged beyond the repair and another 35,000 buildings experienced repairable damage. According to the EERI
Reconnaissance Report, a number of RC buildings sustained severe structural damage and some of them collapsed,
totally or partially. Most of the severely damaged structures were designed according to older seismic codes, with
significantly lower seismic forces than those experienced during the earthquake. The overall behavior of RC structures
was satisfactory. Some of the recorded ground accelerations show elastic spectral accelerations on the order of 0.6 to
0.8 g for structures with periods in the range of 0.15 to 0.3 sec, corresponding to two- to five-story buildings in Athens.
Most of these buildings were designed according to the old code, with about ten times lower seismic forces. This factor
is expected to be significantly higher in the epicentral area, where the effective ground acceleration should have
exceeded the value of 0.5 g. The majority of the RC structures in the broader area of Athens suffered only minor
structural damage because they had strength reserves such as infill walls, over-strength and redundancy.

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 Figure 5C: Earthquake Damage - Dislodged
Figure 5A: Typical Earthquake Damage (1999 Figure 5B: Building Collapse in the 1999 Athens Column due to Soft Ground Floor Effect (1999
Athens earthquake) earthquake Athens earthquake)

Figure 5E: Failure of column, due to short column

effect, of a 5-story building in Ano Liosia, which
was built in 1997 according to the new Greek Figure 5F: Typical damage to the shear wall
Figure 5D: Typical Earthquake Damage-Column Seismic Code (1999 Athen earthquake); Source: surrounding the stairwell in an apartment block i
Failure (1999 Athens Earthquake) ITSAK the 1999 Athens earthquake (Source: EQE)

6. Construction
6.1 Building Materials

Structural element Building material Characteristic strength Mix proportions/dimensions Comments

Walls Reinforced Concrete Concrete strength: 16/25 MPa Steel: S500 (fy=500 MPa)
Foundation Reinforced Concrete Concrete strength: 16/25 MPa Steel: S500 (fy=500 MPa)
Frames (beams & columns) Reinforced Concrete Concrete strength: 16/25 MPa Steel: S500 (fy=500 MPa)
Roof and floor(s) Reinforced Concrete Concrete strength: 16/25 MPa Steel: S500 (fy=500 MPa)

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 6.2 Builder
These buildings are usually built by developers.

6.3 Construction Process, Problems and Phasing

Developers are usually builders of this type of construction. Ready-mixed concrete is usually used. Concrete pumps and
concrete vibrators are used in situ. The construction of this type of housing takes place in a single phase. Typically,
the building is originally designed for its final constructed size.

6.4 Design and Construction Expertise

Structural Engineer (five years University studies and minimum 5 years experience) Experienced professionals for the
construction. Occasional low quality construction is observed. Architects are responsible for architectural drawings
and civil engineers for the structural design.

6.5 Building Codes and Standards

This construction type is addressed by the codes/standards of the country. Structural Engineer (five years University
studies and minimum 5 years experiTitle of the code or standard: Greek Code for Earthquake Resistant Design
(NEAK) Year the first code/standard addressing this type of construction issued: 1955 National building code, material
codes and seismic codes/standards: Greek Code for Earthquake Resistant Design (NEAK), Athens 1995. Greek Code
for Reinforced Concrete Design (NKOS), Athens 1995. When was the most recent code/standard addressing this
construction type issued? 1995 ence) Experienced professionals for the construction. Occasional low quality
construction is observed.

Building design must follow the National Building Code and EuroCodes.

6.6 Building Permits and Development Control Rules

This type of construction is an engineered, and authorized as per development control rules. Building permits are
required to build this housing type.

6.7 Building Maintenance

Typically, the building of this housing type is maintained by Owner(s) and Tenant(s).

6.8 Construction Economics

250,000 GRD/m² (600 US$/m²). 1 month per floor 50 man-months per floor.

7. Insurance
Earthquake insurance for this construction type is typically unavailable. For seismically strengthened existing buildings
or new buildings incorporating seismically resilient features, an insurance premium discount or more complete coverage
is unavailable. Earthquake insurance for this construction type was only recently imposed. Repair works.

8. Strengthening

8.1 Description of Seismic Strengthening Provisions

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 Strengthening of Existing Construction :
Seismic Deficiency Description of Seismic Strengthening provisions used
Reinforced concrete Installation of reinforced concrete jackets For the construction of reinforced concrete jackets, concrete quality (strength) must
columns: deficient be greater or equal to the existing concrete. New and existing reinforcement must be connected at least at the corners of the
reinforcement and concrete columns by using steel plates at 500 mm spacing. Connection between reinforced concrete jackets and existing columns is
provided by steel dowels (about 5 dowels /m²). Seismic strengthening using the concrete jackets is illustrated in Figure 6
strength
(Source: UNIDO).

Strengthening of damaged concrete columns using the reinforced concrete jackets was used in Greece after the 1981
Athens earthquake. More details on this technique can be found in UNIDO (1983).

8.2 Seismic Strengthening Adopted

Has seismic strengthening described in the above table been performed in design and construction practice, and if so, to
what extent?
Yes, to a great extent.

Was the work done as a mitigation effort on an undamaged building, or as repair following an earthquake?
Repair following the earthquake damage.

8.3 Construction and Performance of Seismic Strengthening

Was the construction inspected in the same manner as the new construction?
Yes.

Who performed the construction seismic retrofit measures: a contractor, or owner/user? Was an architect or engineer
involved?
The construction was performed by a contractor, with the involvement - supervision of an architect and a civil
engineer.

What was the performance of retrofitted buildings of this type in subsequent earthquakes?
The performance was satisfactory.

Figure 6: Illustration of Seismic Strengthening Techniques

Reference(s)
1. ITSAK Report on the 1999 Athens Earthquake
Institute of Engineering Seismology and Earthquake Engineering, Thessaloniki, Greece (www.itsak.gr)

2. The Athens, Greece Earthquake of September 7, 1999

EERI Special Earthquake Report (www.eeri.org/earthquakes/Reconn/Greece1099/Greece1099.html)

3. September 7, 1999 Athens, Greece Earthquake

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 EQE (www.eqe.com/revamp/greece1.htm)

4. Repair and Strengthening of Reinforced Concrete, Stone and Brick Masonry Buildings
UNIDO
Building Construction Under Seismic Conditions in the Balkan Region, Volume 5, UNDP/UNIDO Project RER/79/015, United Nations
Industrial Development Organization, Vienna, Austria 1983

Author(s)
1. T. P. Tassios
Professor, National Technical University of Athens
9 Iroon Polytechniou, Zographou Athens 15780, GREECE
Email:[email protected] FAX: +301 8045139

2. Kostas Syrmakezis
Professor, National Technical University of Athens
9 Iroon Polytechniou, Zographou Athens 15780, GREECE
Email:[email protected] FAX: +301 7721582

Reviewer(s)
1. Craig D. Comartin
President
, C.D. Comartin Associates
Stockton CA 95207-1705, USA
Email:[email protected] FAX: (209) 472-7294

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