Earthquake Architecture Explorations

This paper describes and reviews a design studio undertaken by senior undergraduate architectural students to explore issues of earthquake architecture. After a brief initial phase of broad earthquake engineering literature research, in some cases supplemented by computer and physical modeling, students identified a wide range of earthquake related phenomena capable of providing the basis for generating\ud earthquake architecture. From lists that included geotectonic processes, engineering technologies and human perceptions of earthquakes, students were encouraged to develop two design concepts robust enough to sustain subsequent architectural development. A suburban library and a multi-storey office building functioned as vehicles for the design process. The tested and developed ideas became primary design concepts, informing as many aspects of their designs as possible; guiding both architectural formmaking\ud and the resolution of design details. When integrated with site and programmatic requirements these ideas led to preliminary designs that, to various degrees of success, became examples of earthquake architecture.\ud While the research phase of the project highlighted the diversity of earthquake related ideas that can provide inspiration for designers, the design projects revealed the latent possibilities for further enriching our built environment through earthquake architecture