Journal of Architectural Engineering

Results are presented of a pilot study conducted recently at the Pennsylvania State University Building Envelope Research Laboratory (BERL) to investigate the response of curtain wall mock-ups glazed with 6 mm $(\frac{1}{4}$ in.) annealed monolithic architectural glass panels fitted with anchored applied film under simulated earthquake conditions. Three common film-to-frame anchoring methods were evaluated: (1) structural silicone adhesive [13 mm $(\frac{1}{2}$ in.) triangular cross section] application along the entire glass panel perimeter; (2) an aluminum bar extrusion to anchor the film to the frame horizontal along only the top of the glass panel; and (3) two aluminum bar extrusions to anchor the film to the frame verticals along the two vertical edges of the glass panel. Serviceability (glass cracking) and ultimate (glass fallout) limit-state data were collected during in-plane dynamic racking tests. Other performance characteristics, such as cohesive failure of the structural silicone adhesive, loss of film-to-glass adhesion, film tearing, damage to aluminum anchor bars, pullout of the filmed glass unit from the frame glazing pockets, and eventual entire unit fallout, were also recorded. These preliminary tests indicated that anchorage type can demonstrably influence both the serviceability (initial glass cracking) and ultimate (glass fragment fallout and entire unit fallout) limit states of “unweathered” filmed glass panels. In this study, the structural silicone anchor provided the best serviceability limit-state performance of the three anchor methods tested, and the top anchor provided the best entire-unit glass fallout resistance.

Lightly reinforced and unreinforced masonry buildings have not performed well in earthquakes. Evaluation of past performance of masonry structures has led to more stringent design and construction requirements in the current building codes, and has raised concerns about the performance of existing lightly reinforced and unreinforced masonry buildings in future earthquakes. Base isolation has been shown to be effective in reducing damage to large building structures, and appears to be particularly effective in protecting stiff masonry structures. Using the base isolation principle, Kansas State University’s stiffness decoupler for the base isolation of structures (SDBIS) was designed to effectively reduce the acceleration and force transferred into a building superstructure during a seismic event. The sliding system uses a passive method to provide damping and to dissipate some of the kinetic energy to reduce relative displacements. In addition, the SDBIS system includes a self-centering element that will recover the majority of the induced displacement and provide resistance to overturning. In order to apply the SDBIS system to the masonry building industry, dynamic testes were performed to evaluate the structural response of a full-size one-story masonry model that was supported by the SDBIS system. Acceleration time-history results are presented for dynamic tests using the July 21, 1952 Kern County earthquake, Station 1095 Taft Lincoln School record, the May 19, 1940 Imperial Valley earthquake, Station 117 El Centro Array #9 record, the February 9, 1971 San Fernando earthquake, Station 279 Pacoima Dam record, and the January 17, 1994 Northridge earthquake, Station 24436 Tarzana Cedar Hill record ground motions. Test results show the system is effective when used with a masonry structure.

The project inception stage has been the focus of intense research activity for a number of years. The need to establish the project parameters and performance requirements has been an imperative in many organizations. Predesign processes and activities are being instituted that work through client strategic and organizational issues, needs, and requirements before the design team is involved. The participation of stakeholders in predesign workshops is a common feature of these project inception approaches. These approaches prepare a clear and workable statement of the project requirements in performance terms that the client group has agreed and committed itself to. This document can then provide a sound basis for the development of the design. One approach to these early stages of the project is strategic needs analysis. This approach uses a workshop setting to focus stakeholder involvement in proposing and identifying a range of strategic options for the proposed project. A case study of strategic needs analysis involving university faculty relocation to a new site is presented. The developments of organizational strategic options are described with the development of user performance indicators to guide the design development process.

While smart features have been incorporated in private condominiums, it is unclear if these features are appropriate and satisfactorily used by homeowners. The concern of this study is that for all good intent and purposes, the smart features designed into intelligent condominiums by developers may not be what homeowners need, i.e., there could be gaps between homeowners’ expectations and developers’ perceptions of what these expectations are. The aims of this study are, therefore, to (1) examine the kinds of intelligent systems available that are most appropriately used in condominiums, and (2) assess the needs of homeowners to determine their satisfaction level from using smart features provided in their intelligent condominiums. Seven smart features that are commonly provided in intelligent condominiums in Singapore were identified. A survey was conducted in Singapore with homeowners and developers, which suggests that smart fire protection and security systems were deemed most appropriate by homeowners. However, homeowners were generally not very satisfied with the performance of these smart features. A gap analysis of the survey findings suggests that there were discrepancies between homeowners’ expectations and developers’ perceptions of homeowners’ expectations. This suggests a need for developers to allocate their resources more effectively in the future to meet homeowners’ needs.