Taquezal Buildings in Nicaragua and Their Earthquake Performance
Publication: Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities
Volume 26, Issue 5
Abstract
Taquezal is a common earthen building type in Nicaragua. It is constructed by building a wood frame and then packing the frame with mud to create thick earthen walls. The wood frame allows the structure to be constructed without the formwork (which is required for rammed earth buildings) and without first constructing blocks (which is generally required in adobe construction). The wood frame also allows a thinner wall than other earthen building types. Commonly, taquezal roofs are made of timber framing and heavy clay tile roofs. Taquezal buildings are not engineered and therefore are difficult to analyze with modern structural engineering methods. During the 1972 Managua earthquake, nearly 10,000 people died, and most of them were in taquezal buildings. This paper discusses taquezal as a structural system and applies engineering methods to this nonengineered structure. It was found that taquezal buildings perform well during low-to-moderate earthquakes if well maintained. However, if the wood is not maintained and allowed to rot, this degrades the roof diaphragm and wall supports, and the performance is considerably diminished.
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Acknowledgments
The research presented in this paper was supported by the Fulbright Foundation and the David L. Boren Awards for International studies for appreciating the value of international studies. Also, partial support from the Engineering Research Institute of Seoul National University, Korea, is acknowledged. The writers thank Dr. Polat Gülkan for his hosting L.S. for a fun filled and informative year at Middle East Technical University in Ankara, Turkey, and the many personnel who helped at various stages of the research process and during the field survey in Nicaragua. The writers hope that this paper will help people to better understand the seismic vulnerability and behavior of earthen buildings in seismic zones and to improve the seismic performance of those buildings in developing nations. The opinions, findings, and conclusions in this paper are those of the writers and do not necessarily represent those of the sponsors.
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Information & Authors
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Published In
Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities
Volume 26 • Issue 5 • October 2012
Pages: 644 - 656
Copyright
© 2012 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Nov 22, 2010
Accepted: Aug 1, 2011
Published online: Aug 3, 2011
Published in print: Oct 1, 2012
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