Simplified tools for the risk assessment and classification of existing buildings

Abstract

In recent decades, the seismic assessment of existing buildings has developed significantly from traditional objectives focusing on ensuring life-safety of buildings to more advanced metrics considering potential economic losses. Italy has made notable developments in this regard with the introduction of the so-called Sismabonus seismic risk assessment and classification guidelines. These guidelines consider more advanced metrics of seismic performance and use vast amounts of existing data following past earthquakes and specialized studies. They offer a simple and practitioner-oriented approach that is geared towards widespread application. Further analysis has shown that when scrutinized with respect to more exhaustive risk assessment methods, the simplified approaches adopted within Sismabonus may possess some limitations and drawbacks. Recent research, however, has shown that with some modest adjustments and modifications, these simplified methods can be notably improved without any notable penalties in applicability in a practitioner setting. This paper discusses some of these recent developments in tools and approaches and describes how they may be integrated in future revisions of risk assessment guidelines.