Local communities have adapted for centuries to challenging surroundings, resulting from unforeseen natural hazards. Vernacular architecture often reveals very intelligent responses attuned to the environment. Therefore, the question that emerged was: how did local populations prepare their dwellings to face frequent earthquakes? It was to respond to this gap in knowledge, that the SEISMIC-V research project was instigated, and this interdisciplinary international publication was prepared. The research revealed the existence of a local seismic culture, in terms of reactive or preventive seismic resistant measures, able to survive, if properly maintained, in areas with frequent earthquakes. The fundamental contribution and aims of the publication were to enhance: -The disciplinary interest in vernacular architecture; -Its contribution to risk mitigation in responding to natural hazards; -To encourage academic and scientific research collaboration among different disciplines; -To contribute to the improvement of vernacular dwellings, which half of the world’s population still inhabits nowadays. Fifty international researchers and experts presented case studies from Latin America, the Mediterranean, Eastern and Central Asia and the Himalayas region, with reference to 20 countries, i.e. Algeria, Bolivia, Bhutan, Chile, China, Egypt, El Salvador, Greece, Haiti, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Morocco, Nepal, Nicaragua, Peru, Romania, Taiwan, Turkey and a closer detailed analysis of Portugal. This publication brings together 43 contributions, with new perspectives on seismic retrofitting techniques and relevant data, addressing vernacular architecture; an amazing source of knowledge, and to this day, home to 4 billion people.

Seismic Retrofit of Existing Buildings is a concise and easy-to-use guideline for practising engineers to assess and design successful seismic retrofit interventions for existing vulnerable buildings. It offers readers guidance on both conceptual design strategies and relevant detailed design considerations.

Vernacular architecture in general and earthen architecture in particular, with their rich variety of forms worldwide, are custodians of the material culture and identity of the peoples who built them. In addition, they are widely recognized as ancestral examples of sustainability in all their variants and interpretations, and the architecture of the present ought to learn from these when designing the sustainable architecture of the future. The conservation of these architectures – seemingly simple yet full of wisdom – is to be undertaken now given their intrinsic value and their status as genuine examples of sustainability to be learnt from and interpreted in contemporary architecture. Vernacular and earthen architecture: Conservation and Sustainability will be a valuable source of information for academics and professionals in the fields of Environmental Science, Civil Engineering, Construction and Building Engineering and Architecture.

Structural Analysis of Historical Constructions. Anamnesis, diagnosis, therapy, controls contains the papers presented at the 10th International Conference on Structural Analysis of Historical Constructions (SAHC2016, Leuven, Belgium, 13-15 September 2016). The main theme of the book is “Anamnesis, Diagnosis, Therapy, Controls”, which emphasizes the importance of all steps of a restoration process in order to obtain a thorough understanding of the structural behaviour of built cultural heritage. The contributions cover every aspect of the structural analysis of historical constructions, such as material characterization, structural modelling, static and dynamic monitoring, non-destructive techniques for on-site investigation, seismic behaviour, rehabilitation, traditional and innovative repair techniques, and case studies. A special focus has been put on six specific themes: - Innovation and heritage - Preventive conservation - Computational strategies for heritage structures - Sustainable strengthening of masonry with composites - Values and sustainability, and - Subsoil interaction The knowledge, insights and ideas in Structural Analysis of Historical Constructions. Anamnesis, diagnosis, therapy, controls make this book of abstracts and the corresponding, digital full-colour conference proceedings containing the full papers must-have literature for researchers and practitioners involved in the structural analysis of historical constructions.

During earthquakes, masonry buildings are the most affected, and consequently, damage to these buildings leads to massive loss of life and property. Masonry buildings comprise probably the greatest share of overall housing stock, and in turn, understanding their performance during earthquakes is a pivotal problem in seismic regions. Masonry Construction in Active Seismic Regions presents details on the kinds of masonry building found in seismic regions of the world. The title describes interventions, such as retrofitted solutions, dynamic identification, and improved construction after earthquakes, that are equally applicable to regions of moderate and high seismicity. The book covers representative masonry buildings from active seismic regions, the material properties of masonry construction, numerical modelling techniques and computational advances, seismic performance of non-engineered masonry buildings, resilience in typical construction, retrofitting, and the cultural values and structural characterization of heritage masonry buildings in active seismic regions. This book is unique in its global and systematic coverage of masonry construction in seismic regions. Identifies the material properties of masonry construction from a seismic perspective Covers representative masonry buildings from active seismic regions, providing a benchmark to understand existing building stocks Provides numerical modelling techniques and reviews computational advances, including a large test database Details the seismic performance of non-engineered masonry buildings, as well as the cultural values and structural characterisation of heritage masonry constructions Analyses typical or vernacular constructions which have earthquake resilient features, such as Dhajji-Dewari, Borbone, Pombalino, and Himis

This book gathers the peer-reviewed papers presented at the 13th International Conference on Structural Analysis of Historical Constructions (SAHC), held in Kyoto, Japan, on September 12-15, 2023. It highlights the latest advances and innovations in the field of conservation and restoration of historical and heritage structures. The conference topics encompass history of construction and building technology, theory and practice of conservation, inspection methods, non-destructive techniques and laboratory testing, numerical modeling and structural analysis, management of heritage structures and conservation strategies, structural health monitoring, repair and strengthening strategies and techniques, vernacular constructions, seismic analysis and retrofit, vulnerability and risk analysis, resilience of historic areas to climate change and hazard events, durability, and sustainability. As such the book represents an invaluable, up-to-the-minute tool, providing an essential overview of conservation of historical constructions, and offers an important platform to engineers, architects, archeologists, and geophysicists. Chapter Guidelines for Seismic Retrofitting of Earthen Historic Buildings in Peru and Latin America is available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.