Masonry Magazine April 1994 Page. 41
1989 San Francisco earthquake.
The earthquake, which measured 6.6 on the Richter scale, inflicted serious damage on freeways, bridges and other road systems in Los Angeles. The saws were donated to the Los Angeles County Fire Department; two to the General Services Department of the County of Los Angeles; and one to the City of Santa Clara. They were used in cleanup in the quake ravaged areas.
High Acclaim for History Center
CMR Fields Quake Team
IN ACCORDANCE with its disaster investigation policy, a site reconnaissance of the damage inflicted by the January 17 Los Angeles earthquake was authorized by the Council for Masonry Research.
The investigative team, led by Rick Klinger of the University of Texas at Austin, consisted of: Samy Adham, Gary Hart. Bob Hatch (Contractor). John Kariotes (engineer), all of Los Angeles; Phil Samblanet, NCMA engineer; Ma Matt Scolforo, BIA, engineer; John Tawresey, Seattle, engineer; and Terry Weigel, University of Louisville.
CAPTURING THE COMMERCIAL/Institutional division honors at the Minnesota Concrete and Masonry Contractors Association annual design awards competition last year was the Minnesota History Center in St. Paul. Architect was Hammel, Green and Abrahamson. General masonry was done by Bor-Son/Knutson construction.
Following the tour of the hardest hit areas, Phil Samblanet noted that seismic retrofitting helped the performance of older buildings. "The retrofitting tended to keep the total structure from collapsing," he said, "but there often was still extensive damage. In many cases, the corners of the buildings would collapse."
Generally, Samblanet, a NCMA structural engineer, said that newer reinforced concrete masonry structures did pretty well. But the key, he added, was the quality of construction and reinforcement.
There was one case, he said, where a supposedly reinforced concrete masonry building housing a large discount store collapsed. The problem: no grout. In many cases, buildings failed because of the lack of proper connections between walls and the roof.
"When the earth shakes," Samblanet said, "a wall is going to tip over if nothing is there to hold it at the top. Good connections usually meant good performance; inadequate connections usually meant failure."
The extent to which concrete masonry walls were engineered also had a direct impact on their stability, Samblanet noted. Almost universally, highway sound barriers that were properly engineered held up extremely well, even those as high as sixteen feet.
Award for Concrete Paver Use
OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY'S arboretum won a merit award for use of concrete masonry in a landscape setting, from the Ohio Concrete Block Association. The project was recognized for its uniqueness as a center of interest and a focal point of beauty for the University. The architect chose masonry in a variety of patterns to demonstrate the diversity of concrete pavers. Architect for the project was First Avenue Design Studio, Columbus, Ohio. Mason contractor and concrete block supplier was Oberfields of Delaware, Ohio.