This project will convene a joint US-Italy workshop among architects, design engineers, and policy researchers/planners with direct experience in seismic rehabilitation and construction to discuss the architectural aspects of seismic retrofit and reconstruction. The focus of this workshop is the relationship between architectural design and seismic strengthening: the unique design problems created, the architectural concerns generated by conflicting requirements, and issues raised in construction, and the impact these changes in the built environment have on occupants and on the surrounding community. While past efforts have been focused specifically on damage assessment and strengthening design, this workshop looks at the architectural implications of seismic strengthening and its effect on completed buildings, as well as the context for design policy changes. Among the American and the Italian participants, the architects and engineers will address the question of how retrofit is accomplished, while the planners and policy researchers will ask if retrofit can be accomplished socially and politically.
