Structural engineering and design has in the past, focused on life safety and the prevention of major structural damage during and earthquake. The Whittier-Narrows earthquake of October 1, 1987, has shown that performance of non-structural items that effect building mission performance to be very important and can have significant effects on economic damage. This research project focuses on seismic design implications/lessons from the extensive non-structural building component damage caused by the Whittier, California Earthquake with emphasis on effects at the CSU-LA campus. The research focuses on the performances and behavior of the interior (e.g., partitions, stair enclosure walls) as well as exterior (e.g., cladding curtain-walls, screen-walls) building components; as well as their influence on the overall seismic behavior of building systems. Available data on damage of interior building components and exterior building components as well as building contents is categorized and analyzed. This includes details of the configuration of buildings, their structural systems, with respect to building components, as well as building component repair cost data. This is followed by selected case-studies of two buildings on the CSU- LA campus that suffered significant non-structural damage in addition to structural damage. The results and conclusions of this research will be more effective methods of deriving lessons from observed damage during severe earthquakes; building component damage during earthquakes; valuable practical data on the performance and behavior of interior non-structural walls and exterior facade/cladding systems; and their influence on the overall response and behavior of building systems during earthquakes.
