Event Summary
Organization: ARUP
Session Lead
- Jo da Silva, Director, ARUP
Speakers
- Hayley Gryc, Senior Structural Engineer, ARUP
- Dr. Damian Grant, Senior Earthquake Engineer, ARUP
- Prof. Robin Spence, Director, Cambridge Architectural Research Ltd
- Dr. Matthew Free, Head, Geohazard and Risk Management Team, ARUP
Description
The session will focus on the performance of the built environment when subject to natural (or man-made hazards) in order to better inform the understanding of risk. Topics will cover: a) Building regulations: Building codes and land-use planning are important mechanisms for reducing disaster risk. However, they are only effective if they are current; reflect local forms of construction and perceptions of risk; and are part of a wider culture of safety, education, and training, as well as legislation and enforcement; b) Building performance objectives: Should the building be designed for life-safety or full functionality and minimal damage – these decisions have clear cost, social, and political implications, and more effort is needed to guide decision makers in making and answering these questions; c) Accurate investigation of causes of casualties following disasters enables improved estimation of potential casualties’ in future natural disasters and appropriate mitigation; d) Modeling built environment performance: The built environment is complex and comprises buildings and infrastructure designed and constructed over time, using different materials, changing standards and wide societal contexts. A bottom up approach to city modeling which analyses the specific engineering performance of individual buildings and components of infrastructure can be used to better understand the performance of an entire system and provide hard data for decision makers to understand and manage risk.