1. Dr. Svetlana Brzev
University of British Columbia

2. Special Session on Retrofit of Masonry Structures Confined Masonry: Seismic Retrofitting and New Construction of School Buildings
Dr. Svetlana Brzev
Department of Civil Engineering
British Columbia Institute of Technology
Vancouver, Canada
Prof. Roberto Meli
Instituto de Ingeneria, UNAM, Mexico

3. Confined Masonry: Beginnings
Evolved though an informal process based on its satisfactory performance in past earthquakes
The first reported use in the reconstruction after the 1908 Messina, Italy earthquake (M 7.2) - death toll 70,000
Practiced in Chile and Columbia since 1930’s and in Mexico since 1940’s
Currently practiced in several countries/regions with high seismic risk, including Latin America, Mediterranean Europe, Middle East (Iran), South Asia (Indonesia), and the Far East (China).

4. Components of a Confined Masonry Building

5. Confined Masonry and School Buildings
Suitable for low-rise buildings (most school buildings in Iran single-storey buildings)
Suitable for building plans with smaller room sizes (4-6 m) – schools in rural areas and smaller towns
Construction does not need advanced construction skills - it is expected that construction skills in rural areas are limited

6. Confined Masonry Construction: Performance in Recent Earthquakes
February 2010, Chile
M deaths
(10 due to confined masonry construction)
January 2010, Haiti
M 7.0
300,000 deaths 6

7. Performance of Confined Masonry in Iranian Earthquakes
Source: URM Buildings and Earthquake, State Organization of Schools Renovation, Development and Mobilization, Iran, 2009

8. Performance of Confined Masonry in Iranian Earthquakes - Observations
Key deficiencies:
Poor quality of construction (especially concrete)
Inadequate detailing of RC confining elements and their connections
Code provisions not followed
Inadequate construction supervision ?
Inadequate construction skills?

9. School Retrofit and Reconstruction Project, Iran: Needs
A significant effort (250,000 classrooms)
90% schools of masonry construction
70% schools are of non-engineered unreinforced masonry construction
Construction quality for some (many?) schools likely an issue
Viability of retrofit is questionable in such instances

10. Confined Masonry for Iranian Schools
An opportunity to provide enhanced seismic safety for new school buildings
It is also possible to retrofit the existing confined masonry school buildings, provided that the construction quality is acceptable – otherwise reconstruction is preferred

11. Global Resources Now Available: Seismic Design Guide for Confined Masonry Buildings
A project of the Confined Masonry Network
Developed by an international expert group under the auspices of Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI) and International Association of Earthquake Engineering (IAEE)
Recommendations based on experience from countries and regions where confined masonry construction has been practiced for many decades, including Mexico, Peru, Chile, Argentina, Iran, Indonesia, China, Algeria and Slovenia.

12. Seismic Design Guide for Low-Rise Masonry Buildings
available online at 12 12

13. Upcoming Events
12th Canadian masonry Symposium, Vancouver, Canada, June 2-5, 2013
9th International Masonry Conference, 2014, Guimaraes, Portugal
North American Masonry Conference, 2015, Denver, USA
International Brick/Block Masonry Conference, 2016, Padua, Italy

14. Acknowledgments Co-authors of the Guide: The sponsors:
Maximiliano Astroza, Chile;
Teddy Boen, Indonesia;
Francisco Crisafulli, Argentina;
Junwu Dai, China;
Mohammed Farsi, Algeria;
Tim Hart, USA;
Ahmed Mebarki, France;
A.S. Moghadam, Iran;
Daniel Quiun, Peru;
Miha Tomazevic, Slovenia;
Luis Yamin, Colombia.
The sponsors:
Haiti eq photo: Ben Benjamin,
WSB, Vancouver