Restoration Through a Traditional Intervention of a Historic Unreinforced Masonry Building “Palazzo Scarpa” in Naples

Abstract

A challenging retrofit intervention, through traditional methodology, on an existing unreinforced masonry building “Palazzo Scarpa” is illustrated. Especially challenging was the complete substitution of the two storeys of two existing longitudinal walls, each long 20m, for a total of 30 piers, by leaving in place the three upper storeys due to need of not evacuate the 36 families living in the building. The diagnosis phase demonstrated an unacceptable low value of the safety factor of the structure under gravity loads. Vertical cracking in several walls, due to compression stresses, confirmed this worrying safety condition of the masonry structure. The paper demonstrates the feasibility (technical and economical) of very traditional intervention, completely based on real mechanical insertions: the substitution walls and the mechanical steel ties. In 2007, the interventions illustrated in this study won the first prize of Sisto Mastrodicasa award on restoration and strengthening of buildings.