DIMENSI − Journal of Architecture and Built Environment, Vol. 45, No. 2, December 2018, 153-164 DOI: 10.9744/dimensi.45.2.

153-164
ISSN 0126-219X (print) / ISSN 2338-7858 (online)

EARTHQUAKE FAILURES ON BUILDINGS AND THE ROLE OF

ARCHITECT ON BUILDING SAFETY
Noor Cholis Idham
Architecture Department, Universitas Islam Indonesia
Email: [email protected]

ABSTRACT
The safety of building users against earthquakes is not directly caused by earthquakes, but rather by the ability of the
people and environment to deal with the shake. The failure of the building is the most causing factor for the casualties and
property losses. However, the building structural strength is not the single decisive aspect of building safety but also
accompanying by others such as building design and the use of architectural elements. This paper explores the various
failures after earthquakes and its relationship with architecture designs as the work of architect in the building process. The
discussion is conducted based on the type of the failures, the causing factor of the damages, and how the builders should
anticipate it. The results of this study show that the main principles relating to the safety of buildings are closely related to
architects who play a significant role in building design starting from the decision of the location, choosing the appropriate
building type, designing less vulnerable structure, and avoiding the complexity in building design. Architects are expected to
increase the safety of building users by their devoted responsibility for avoiding the unnecessary casualties.

Keywords: Earthquake failures; Building safety; Architect role.

INTRODUCTION cause significant damage to buildings in the imme-

diate vicinity with only two casualties (USGS, 2018)
Earthquake occurrence is unavoidable but could (table 1). An earthquake will affect the building due
be anticipated so that adverse impacts on the human not only to the strength of an earthquake called
and environment is minimal. The quakes are proven moment magnitude (Mw) but also how that energy is
not as the primary cause of the human's life, but the passed to the site where the building is located (BGS,
failure of the buildings is usually resulting many 2018). The nature of the energy source, the distance,
casualties (Idham, 2014). The death causing by the the depth of the hypocenter, as well as the geographic
building is up to 75% (Coburn, Spence, & Pomonis, and geological conditions to the closest built environ-
1992). The building safety is then the critical task that ment (building) significantly affect the destructing
must be prepared with the primary objective of power level of an earthquake.
minimizing fatalities. The principle of buildings safety Building problems under the earthquake, up to
under earthquake allows the buildings to crash and this moment, are commonly addressed to experts in
even collapse but the protection of the user should be the field of structures rather than the others. The
retained. Many casualties were caused either directly impact of earthquakes on buildings is often only
by the structural or architectural deficiencies. The discussed on technical matters related to the calcu-
architectural failure such as collapsed wall or failed lation of building strength. It is certainly under-
roof were even counted as the main causing factor standable, but not totally right since the safety of a
resulting the fatality such as Bantul earthquake in building users is not determined solely by the strength
2006 where more than 6000 people death and of the structure, but also the overall concept of the
hundred thousand buildings collapsed (Idham & building design.
Mohd, 2018). For this purpose, the safety concepts as
part of comprehensive building design must be more Table 1. Comparison of two large Sumatra quakes. source:
considered. (USGS, 2018)
The magnitude of the earthquake is not the Parameter Sumatra Earthquake Sumatra Earthquake
single factor of destructive energy but combined with December 26, 2004 11 April 2012
the load of the building and its environmental factors. Location 2,311 ° N, 93,063 ° E 3.316 ° N, 95.854 ° E
In case of two major earthquakes of Sumatra 9.1 Mw Magnitude 9.1 8.6
December 2004 and the Sumatra earthquake 8.6 Mw Depth 22.9 km 30 km away
April 2012, the impact on the building was diffe- Distance to 250 km southeast 434 km southwest
rent. The 2004 earthquake was devastating and even Banda Aceh
triggered an enormous tsunami that reached the
mainland of Africa and death toll reached In addition, the building may have been calcu-
286,000 people, while the 2012 earthquake did not lated on the basis of a complete structural analysis, but

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in fact, a moderate to big earthquake almost always scale of earthquake energy released at the hypo-
knocked down buildings and still took casualties from center of the earthquake. The engineered building is
previously thought to be sturdy buildings. The expected will damage in the 5 SR earthquake (Idham,
example of this condition can be found from the 2014; USGS, n.d.), however the building quality or
number of damage that cost thousands of lives more environmental aspect is vary and the damage may
than 15,000 lives and over 120,000 buildings start below or above 5 magnitude.
destroyed from the 9.0 earthquake and tsunami of The intensity of the earthquake is affected by the
Tōhoku earthquake in Japan 3 March 2011 (Oskin, distance and depth (hypocenter) as well as the
2018), though it is known as the country with the horizontal distance (epicenter) of the source which is
most buildings prepared for the earthquake. The divided into shallow and deep earthquakes.
Fukushima nuclear reactor was damaged seriously Earthquake‟s source from more than 70 km below the
even though the building was 100% planned to be earth's surface (below the thickness of the earth's
safe against the earthquake. These prove that struc- crust) is categorized as a deep earthquake and from
tural calculation is not the only major consideration in distances of 200 km, or more are grouped as distant
designing earthquake-safe buildings. quakes (Smart, n.d.; Spence, Sipkin, & Choy, 2018)
The facts that the earthquake impact is fasci- which are less impact on the human environment.
nating and should be examined on how it actually Large magnitudes will be meaningless if it occurs in
destructs the building. The nature and character of the depths or away from building sites due to their small
earthquake energy and the damage caused is very amplitude which is weakening. Conversely, although
significant to learn, especially for architects since the the magnitude of the earthquake is small, if the
failures were caused not only by structural strength earthquake happens close enough to the building or
but also involving aspects in building design related to shallow, then it will influence significantly to the
the form, size, construction, and configuration. For building. For example, the Yogyakarta earthquake of
this reason a discussion on the matters are absolutely 2006, with only 5.9 SR (BMG) or 6.3 M (USGS)
necessary for architects in order to reduce the impact many buildings destroyed by near and shallow (± 10
of the earthquake causing a disaster for the human km) earthquake sources.
environment. The harder the ground, the faster the wave
propagation passes, while soft soil slows down wave
METHODOLOGY velocity and converts it into motion energy. Ampli-
fication of the wave will occur at the acceleration of
This study is aimed to increase awareness of movement on the ground (wave <600 ft. / sec) (Silva,
architects related to the importance of architectural 1997; Spence et al., 2018). The soil properties besides
design deals with an earthquake. Building failures determining the propagation of the waves also
under an earthquake are essential to be examined by determine the natural shaking vibrations of the soil
firstly exploring the destructing factors of the which are strongly associated with passing energy.
earthquake, the impacts to the buildings, the building Earthquakes have different durations depending on
failures, and the architectural design interrelated. the type of collapse and fault properties that
Many cases from some sources including engineered occur. The time-span of shock will significantly affect
building and vernacular houses were utilized to the intensity of the building. Small shakes in a long
collect the whole picture of the failures and building time can damage the building, and high duration of
designs. Architect role is then concluded from the vibration will significantly affect the durability of
discussion by the fact of the failures on some previous materials and building structures. Similarly, after-
earthquake occurrences. shocks that occur after the main earthquake though
with small strength may impact to more damaging to
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION buildings since they have been affected by the
previous major earthquake.
The earthquake intensity is expressed in units of
Modified Mercalli Intensity scale (MMI) which is EARTHQUAKE ENERGY AND DAMAGE OF
intended to measure the effect of an earthquake on the THE BUILDING
human environment. The intensity is influenced by
many aspects besides the magnitude such as (a) the The wave of an earthquake is a form of energy
distance of the hypocenter or epicenter, (b) influence which is strongly influenced by the way it travels
of the soil type, (c) earthquake duration, and the from the source to the human environment on the
building structure (USGS, 2016). Magnitude is the surface of the earth. The main aspects of the

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earthquake‟s shake in buildings include the duration Sidarta, 2007), so the impact is that almost none of the
of the quake, amplitude, and frequency (Ghaidan, buildings survives in the area.
2002). The related aspects with their physical
properties are (a) frequency and amplitude, (b) Earthquake Resonance
acceleration, and (c) resonance (JIA-JASO, 2015).
Earthquake waves may occur with a variety of
Frequency and Amplitude frequencies that are very likely equal to the natural
frequencies of man-made environments. The build-
The frequency of the earthquake wave is inver- ings will react with the same particular frequency
sely proportional to the amplitude. Earthquakes shake according to its natural occurrence or called resonance
with a high-frequency wave are identic with a low (IRIS, n.d.). The resonant effect will enlarge the
amplitude and vice versa. Amplitude is an earthquake movement and force the building so that the possi-
property associated with strength or weakness of the bility of building damage will be greater.
energy because it affects the soil and building vibra- A lower building has higher natural frequencies
tions. The amplitude is determined by the distance of while high rise building has the low frequencies. The
the hypocenter and epicenter, or distance and depth of natural frequency of buildings is 0.1 sec (in one
the source of the earthquake. The nearer or shallower second ten vibration periods) per floor. Thus the
the source of the earthquake, the higher the amplitude structure of one, 10, 30 floors has a frequency of 0.1,
and the higher the vibration of the energy. The 1, 3 sec respectively; the higher the building, the
dominant frequency 1-0.1 hertz extend in surface lower the natural frequency. Short or rigid build-
ground wave (Britanica, 2018). ings will be affected more in high-frequency earth-
Surface waves are more dangerous than under- quakes whereas low-frequency earthquakes will have
ground waves because they have a high amplitude more effect on tall buildings or buildings with flexible
with a low frequency. A high amplitude causes materials. Very high buildings will be relatively safe
intense physical movement of the soil, and a low from earthquake shocks as they move away from the
frequency more likely to cause damage to the
natural frequency of the earthquake.
buildings. The sideways movement appears with the
Earthquake waves close to the source still have
amplitude from 1 to 70 mm for regular earthquakes
high energy with high frequencies compared to
and up to 240 mm for strong earthquakes. An
locations far away from the earthquake. Therefore the
earthquake with 3 Richter scale (SR) will sway a
low and rigid buildings are precisely the most vulne-
building as wide as 1 mm in the location as far as 100
km from epicenter and will be doubled for every 1 SR rable to near quakes compared to multi-story build-
increments (Krisnanto, 2009). Damage to the struc- ings. Besides due to the amplitude, a low and rigid
tural system generally occurs with the occurrence of building is also vulnerable to the resonance due to the
amplification caused by the phenomenon of reso- high frequency. Many destructed houses under earth-
nance with natural vibration frequencies of the quake such as Yogyakarta earthquake of 27 May
building. 2006 which was not so large in magnitude but has a
hypocenter close to the residential building area had
Acceleration given rise to this resonance.

Buildings can generally retain acceleration as a EFFECT OF THE QUAKE ON BUILDINGS

form of the gravity (1 g = 9.8 m/sec), but if this load
occurs horizontally, then almost all buildings will The final determinant of the earthquake intensity
collapse instantly. Acceleration in buildings from zero level against the building is the design of the building
to several meters per second will cause structures, itself. In the case of earthquake-damaged buildings,
especially with high masses, likely to retain their they are mostly caused by the unpreparedness of the
positions so that building strength is crucial. For building of the lateral loads. In general, the building is
example, an earthquake acceleration of 3-5 m/sec 2 (± not designed for earthquake shocks, but only on the
0.5g) in the Yogyakarta earthquake of 27 May 2006 weight of the functions and the building weight
(Poland, 2010) can destroy non-technical buildings itself. The design of the building against the
quickly. Due to the sediment soil conditions that are earthquake is mainly influenced by the characteristics
soft, the acceleration is even doubled in the area near of the structure that includes: (a) Natural vibration
the source of the earthquake (Walter et al., 2008) or time of building structure, (b) Damping of the
0.20 ~ 0.34g in the horizontal direction up to 3.5g in building structure, (c) Requirements and concepts of
the vertical direction (Amr S Elnashai, Kim, Yun, & building and detailing.

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The natural vibration or frequency, as discussed result of a failure on the ground, structural vibration,
earlier, is more affected by the height of the building, and other causes (Yashinsky, 2006). The failure of the
the structural system, and the building materials building under an earthquake is generally caused by
used. Tall buildings with flexible structures have a the inability of the parts of the building to work as a
lower frequency than rigid low-buildings. Damping is system in opposing lateral forces (A.S. Elnashai & Di
more related to the primary system or addition to the Sarno, 2008). The selection of materials has also the
building structure as well as rigid wall structures and important role to safe the building.
bracing. The flexible foundation pads are also Some aspects of building failure due to earth-
categorized in this attenuation. quakes relate to design errors which affect the perfor-
Earthquake vibration is the movement of the soil mance of structural systems are the strength, rigidity,
on the foundation of the building that causes it to and flexibility; improper element connections; the
move while the top of the building tends to remain quality of workmanship and materials; and the failure
because it maintains its mass potential load. The of the soil (BGS, 2018; Giuliani, 2000; Murty,
higher the movement energy and the amplitude of the Goswani, Vijayanarayanan, & Mehta, 2012; White,
earthquake, the higher the movement of the lower part n.d.).
of this building so that the upper building tends to
experience more displacement or position difference
Light Structure
compared to the bottom. This position difference
will affect the mechanism of channeling the forces The massive building of adobe and reinforced
that occur to affect the building integrity. Because of concrete houses will trigger greater inertia during an
the process, the upper parts of the building tend to be
earthquake because the inertial amplitude will directly
damaged first and the vertical parts such as the
columns and walls, are the most affected part of the proportional to the mass of the structure (Figure.1).
building which bends like cantilever construction on The secure building then identic with a light-weight
the vertical load. structure such as timber or metal construction.
Earthquake movement on the land unfortunately Wooden structure such as Joglo is better to deal the
not once but repeatedly according to the duration of quake rather than heavier structure (Maer, 2009;
the earthquake accompanied by changes in accele- Prihatmaji, 2007). Brick wall houses and RC con-
ration. The acceleration changes make the building struction, which is massive, is less suggested for
accepts the vibration energy of the ground and secure building from earthquakes. Masonry building
disrupts the stability of the building. The impact of are accounted for most of the building failure up to
this phenomenon is the destruction of building 70% (Coburn et al., 1992).
element material because it cannot withstand with
acceleration load. The building is vulnerable to
collapse because its stability is disrupted.
Dynamic movement of soil caused by the
earthquake‟s vertical and lateral force on the building
but the lateral force movement has the most damaging
effect on the building. In contrast, vertical forces are
usually less significant to damage buildings
(Hamburger & Scawthorn, 2006). This condition
certainly does not apply to buildings that are relatively
located near the epicenter because the effects of Fig. 1. Structures with heavy materials will always
vertical force will be quite high and are more vulnerable to earthquakes New Zealand 2011 and the
damaging to buildings due to R waves as discussed surviving wooden structure did not collapse instantly in the
earlier. Effect vertical gravitational forces and lateral event of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake (photo: Martin
force effects combined with earthquakes cause Luff and US National Archives).
overturning moments or upside-down moments in
buildings. The more weight the building, the higher Flexible buildings
the potential of this moment (Ghaidan, 2002). Loca-
tion of the building is crucial for this issue. Building structures with short vibration
periods will have more swings in the event of an
BUILDING FAILURES AND earthquake. This type of building structure generally
ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN PRINCIPLES has a high degree of vulnerability unless it uses a
stronger structural system. Brittle buildings were
Structural damage usually does not occur until damaged quickly and concrete building failures were
the magnitude of 5.0 Mw which generally as the the most causing casualties compared to any other

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 Earthquake Failures on Buildings and the Role

structural system (Coburn et al., 1992). Short build- fail from one building will not cause others, and
ings with rigid building materials are particularly progressive collapse can be minimized.
vulnerable to short vibration periods (Figure.2). Rela- The hammering or punch effect may happen for
tively tall building with flexible structure should be many times in correlation with the intensity of the
utilized to avoid short-vibration effect since the earthquake. The collision between the two buildings
frequency of those building is less and the swing of will damage both structures, especially the relatively
the building caused by the small amplitude of the weaker ones. The collision generally occurs in
wave. If small or rigid building should be used, the crowded urban buildings or improper building
reinforcement should be extra. Again, RC structure in configurations (Figure.3). Building arrangement by
a non-multi-story building is less suggested. keeping enough space in between to expect the sway
under quake is urgent to keep every building react
freely without affecting each other.

Fig. 3. The adjacent buildings will destroy the weaker one

(photo: Wilshire and Meyer USGS)

Homogeny Structure
Fig. 2. Low buildings damaged resonated with the high
frequencies (photo: Martin Luff) High-strength connections between vertical
elements are required to overcome the damage of the
Integrated Structure vertical element and move it to the horizontal
element. This principle is known as the strong
Building failures can be avoided by the use of column-weak beam which is intended to protect the
building elements that support vertical load systems main elements of the building as a structural buffer to
without the brittle materials. If not, then a high delay further collapse (Figure.4). The connection is
reinforcement should be given and the construction the critical part of the system to hold the entire
mass should be reduced. High deformation building under the quake. It should be designed
capabilities can be achieved through the use of stronger rather than the elements in a building. It is
flexible structural elements to delay collapse. The also very urgent to arrange the space of the building
reinforcement both for a rigid or flexible frame is as multiplying primary module, so the dimension of
the structural elements such as column or beam is
needed more. Bracing is commonly used for steel
homogeny (Giuliani, 2000). Damage on the different
building while extra reinforcement in RC joints is size which called as short column effect can be
needed. minimized with the consistency in structural element
dimension.
Building with space in between Earthquake-induced deformation usually occurs
in certain aspects such as at the floor level where the
Failure due to the fragile material will affect high deformity and or weakness is found. This weak
other structural elements with the similar mode. The floor is known as a soft story as a result of wide
building will collapse from the floor where the fragile openings on the floor (Guevara-Perez, 2012). It is
element has failed and will cause more consecutive common in commercial or residential buildings on the
failures, though other elements are relatively better, ground floor (Figure 5). The ground floor should not
which is referred to as a progressive failure of brittle be opened as much as all the walls are removed to
due to the vertical elements (Figure.3). Neighborhood deal with the matter. Some of the walls are still
homogeny is needed to prepare the buildings will needed to hold the lower system is not experiencing
react similarly. The space between adjacent building the over-deformation, or some structural reinforce-
is also needed to keep the buildings have space with ment must be added to act similarly such as bracings
its nature without affecting others (BGS, 2018). The or additional joint strengthening.

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caused by different levels of the floors in high rise

buildings (Figure.6). Architects are suspected of
causing the failures since most of them tend to like as
„different' or as „spectacular.' Plans should be arranged
typically in every floor, and the columns must support
in line accordingly. If accentuation is needed, a
particular treatment should be done to support the
load concentration on the spots.

Fig. 4. Building damage to column failure (left) and beam

failure (right) (photo: Marco Domino)

Vertical-Continuous Building

Fig. 6. The failure of heavy elements on the upper floors

such as tower roof (left) and wall element (right) in
Christchurch 2011 earthquake (photo: Martin Luff)

Simple Plan Building

Horizontal deviations can be found in an asym-

metric building plan because of inequality load
between the center of the mass and its outer parts
which causing the twisting vibration during the
earthquake. More severe damage is expected to occur
in building elements on that floor plan and parts of
buildings that have a long distance from the center of
the mass (Figure.7,8). Compacted plan and mass are
needed to avoid building parts overture under the
vibration (Giuliani, 2000; Murty et al., 2012). If com-
plicated masses are wanted, the mass segregation
should be taken by the structural separation or known
Fig. 5. The impact of the earthquake due to the soft story as dilatation.
effect on the building ground floor (photo: Gedstrom and Architectural elements can reduce the perfor-
Nakata USGS) mance of the structural systems such as wide
openings, heavy tanks on the roof, and massive walls.
Column inconsistency may cause other vertical They contribute significantly to the stiffness of the
irregularities on each floor, unequal or un-continuous structural system. If this element does not lie in the
weights from floor to floor, or even short columns balance position, it can cause system failure. The

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 Earthquake Failures on Buildings and the Role

architectural elements can also cause fatal conse- Right Location

quences for falling easily such as walls, ceilings,
interior elements, and decoration (Figure.9). Archi- Foundation failure causes significant damage to
tects should make sure that building elements are the building even if the main building itself is not
secure by not exaggerating the openings, anchoring dented. The foundations can experience failure gene-
architectural element, and putting the heavy elements rally due to landslides, liquefaction, crushed valleys,
in the building balance. soil compaction, and differential forces (Figure.10).
Choosing the safe site is imperative to make sure the
building still stand from the soil defects. Otherwise,
very sturdy foundations must be applied in the
buildings.

Fig. 7. Damage in the outer elements are generally occurs in

the corner of the building (photo: Martin Luff)

Fig. 10. The foundation failures due to the ground (left) and
the liquefaction effect (right) (photo: Martin Luff)

Building Maintenance
Impaired of age and environmental condition
will damage the structural material and will directly
reduce the seismic performance of the building.
Maintenance is the critical factor to keep the quality of
the material and system. Unfortunately, in many
cases, building maintenance is still less considered
especially in rural housing.

BUILDING FAILURES ON
NON-ENGINEERED HOUSES

Yogyakarta earthquake on May 27, 2006, was

causing many failures of traditional or vernacular
buildings. The earthquake energy was not propagated
Fig. 8. The asymmetric plan makes the torsional effect on by radial means but spreads irregularly according to
the building (photo: Martin Luff) the density of the soil layer. By this way, the
earthquake has different effects in some surrounding
The simple architectural elements areas. Soft soils easily enlarge the wave energy
displacement of the shear forces of the hypocenter.
The horizontal ground peak acceleration in the area
ranges from 0.20 to 0.34 g in the vertical direction.
While an acceleration sufficiently achieves the struc-
tural destruction in the range of 0.18 to 0.30 g. Thus
the Java earthquake has a very high destructive power
(Amr S Elnashai et al., 2007).
148,440 houses from the total population of
218,345 (67.9%) of houses in Bantul could not be
Fig. 9. The architectural elements of the parapet or walls of occupied because severely damaged and collapsed
the building's fallen (photo: Martin Luff) (Bappenas, 2006). The structure of the houses in the

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area was fragile and built without consideration of the The primary structural system used for the
earthquake. According to Boen (Boen, 2006), building under the roof is associated with the function
collapsed houses from the Java earthquake in 2006 of the space in which the most activities are carried
was commonly built with brick walls either with or out. In tropical countries, two essential parts of the
without a reinforced concrete frame. Most of the building are the primary structure under the roof and
deaths and injuries were caused by the collapse of the the roof itself. The roof is mostly built with a high
brick building without reinforcement (EERI, slope and even sometimes more than the underlying
2006). Weak brick-walls are a major factor causing structure. Irregularity or incompleteness of the pri-
the collapse of the building. In the case of newer mary structure will directly affect the vulnerability of
homes with reinforced concrete, improper structural the house since the structure provides space for the
connection are the most prominent aspects of residents as well as supporting the roof load. The
structural failure. The most prominent causes of incompleteness of the primary structure can be
damage to buildings are (Amr S Elnashai et al., 2007): missing or incomplete columns, no envelope walls,
(a) Failure on wall angle and corner of door and heavy wall usage, poor thin wall usage, wide open-
window opening, (b) Roof system that shifts from the ings, and complicated plans (Idham, 2014).
supporting wall, (c) The occurrence of broken shear
Incomplete System
or cracked masonry walls, (d) Failure in the connec-
tion area between roof, wall and foundation. A simple frame with the walls mostly utilizes
columns on single-story buildings with the reinforced
concrete frame. In some cases, especially in modern
vernacular homes, columns are easy to be removed
due to a complex spatial arrangement or just because
of the additional space either built with the same or
different materials. This missing or incomplete
column will immediately reduce the compactness of
the building.
Fig. 11. The broken brick walls (photo: Boen)
Connection Failure
The failure caused by the construction between
reinforced concrete columns and weak beams and
between the columns and the walls. In heavily
damaged homes, failures were commonly found in
the connections which did not incorporate building
frames and walls due to lack of the anchorages
between columns and walls. All the connections both
Fig. 12. The broken concrete frames (photo: Boen)
in the structural system and architectural elements
should be tied. RC connection should be made by
According to EERI (EERI, 2006), Javanese more enforcement to make sure its rigidity. Weak
houses can be divided into three general categories connection between the parts of the house, which are
according to their structural system; (1) Buildings columns and walls, with the roof and between the
with brick walls and wooden frames which were walls itself. Brick wall houses using different mate-
commonly found as old houses built mostly before rials such as steel or wooden columns and beams
the 90 with terracotta tiles. (2) Buildings with brick have undermined structural integrity due to the nature
walls entirely or partially framed by reinforced of different materials. Likewise, lightweight wood
concrete with the use of wooden or bamboo frames frames usually are not fastened firmly on the roof, so
on the roof in the 90's. (3) Moreover, lately, the if an earthquake occurs, it will quickly experience a
wooden frames are replaced by brick walls and shift. A tied building element is the key to integrate
concrete frame on the roof (Figure.11, 12). Never- the reaction of the house under earthquakes.
theless, although the brick walls houses with rein-
forced concrete frames were constructed relatively Untied Structural System
well, the fact that many damaged houses were still
found for several reasons regarding the massive Incomplete frame is commonly found in the use
of PC columns without being equipped with horizon-
structure, the structural completeness, and its connec-
tal frames or tie beams. Without this tie, the frame-
tion (Boen, 2006).

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 Earthquake Failures on Buildings and the Role

work then cannot acts as a single unitary system since stiffness. Building with the wide openings is
there is no unity in the reaction to the earthquake. relatively easy to damage and collapse during the
Incomplete concrete frames especially on the upper earthquake. Wide openings such as for a garage or a
and lower part (ring balk and sloof) is standard in new shop or market in multistory buildings mostly in the
homes. However, many of them were constructed ground floor is known as a soft story.
without them, so the frame only aims to support the
vertical load of the building itself. If an earthquake BUILDING SAFETY and ARCHITECT’S
occurs, buildings with such structures are almost ROLE
equal to buildings without concrete frames at all
because of the absence of elements which keep the From the nature of the earthquake, the effect to
integrity of the building from the lateral force of the the human‟s built environment, the damages of the
earthquake. As a result, many of these buildings were buildings, to the casualties related to the event, all
heavily damaged or even collapsed because there these issues always involving architect as the solely
were no strong ties to the system and the walls. A profession which deals with all building process. The
complete and closed frame should be utilized to make building circle is initially starting from preliminary
sure the integrity. study, planning, designing, constructing, functioning,
to the reuse of the facility is also urge architect
No External Wall familiar with (Preiser & Nasar, 2008).
For tropical houses, the absence of the outer When an architect is involved with the initial
walls is typical to remove indoor moisture. This process, the feasibility to all aspects including safety
circumferential wall, although not functioning directly related to the social, technique and economy are
as a significant structural element, it will increase the discussed. Earthquake hazard will be one of the most
stiffness of the building. vital aspect to be considered. Building location prone
to the earthquake will drive the planning decision
Heavy-Massive Walls regarding what facility could be developed, what
building type should be used, what size of the
The massive wall is a brick wall used in the building, and the safe preference of elements and
traditional construction by using one or three-quarters materials. Improper precaution on the initial step of
of stone construction (two or one and a half layers of the building process may lead the unexpected disaster
brick on the width of the wall) without the use of under earthquake.
columns, without a sufficient anchor, or installed with When dealing with building design, the design
using a wooden frame. concept should make sure that any decision in design
is not challenging the earthquake loads (JIA-JASO,
Thin-Weak Walls 2015). Simple plan, homogenous structure, light
Conversely, the thin walls constructed without materials, regularity in structural form, and building
enough reinforcement can also weaken the structural integrity should be used as the main principles in
system of the building. These thin walls are mostly building design (Giuliani, 2000; Hamburger &
installed in the conventional brick houses which Scawthorn, 2006). Smart architect should consider all
should be considered by the thick walls used to hold the possibilities to make design safe from any natural
the roof weight. Even with the use of reinforced threats without forgetting the form and function and
concrete frames, it cannot overcome the lateral force vice versa. Integrated design related to the building
of the earthquake. This case of failure was commonly and the environment should reflect in the design. The
found in the new houses with the single layer damaged buildings under earthquake were frequently
masonry bricks (12-13 cm with plaster, 10-11cm caused by inappropriate architectural design discussed
without plaster). The height of the wall, in general, above.
was more than 3 m with additional walls on the roof When acting in a supervision of construction, the
as high as 1-2 meter in buildings with a saddle roof acknowledgment should make sure that the built
shape. A thicker brick wall is not recommended since construction is safe when an earthquake sways. No
it is heavy. The additional anchorages should be matter the ideal precaution done in design, the false
installed to tie the walls with the frame. construction also lead to wrong reaction of the
building when earthquake come (JIA-JASO, 2015).
Wide Openings Technical specification should rule the process of the
The wide openings either for a window or a door construction, or even the additional precaution should
between two vertical frames will reduce the building be taken if the original design does not yet

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accommodate the safety on the design document. process of inspection of the construction. (b) The
Amendment for the safety is a must, and the architect architect is the only profession that has a complete
hold the vital role. overall view than any other in a building. Architects
When managing the use of the building, an as team leaders who serve building owners, bring
architect should also make the function of the room is structural experts and others into the building process
corresponding with its maximum capacity which and also control the contractor's work for ideal
connect to the load. Safety issues correlated with the building construction. (c) The role of architects has
flow of the building, emergency egress, signage, recently been extended to coverage of all of the steps
assembly point et cetera are connected directly with in a building process from feasibility studies,
the architect profession. Architectural elements and planning, design, construction, maintenance, and
furniture should be secured from falling, and the route reuse for new functions if applicable.
of the emergency will minimize the casualty (NIEPR, Thus, the architect has a crucial position that
2007). Only an architect now well the matter of significantly affects the level of building safety
spatial as well as building elements configuration to against the earthquake starting from the decision of
take appropriate precaution under earthquake. the location, choosing the appropriate building type,
When asked to take contribution in reuse of an designing less vulnerable structure, and avoiding the
existing building, the architect should completely complexity in building design. An architect however
evaluate the reusability of the building in many has bigger responsibility for the quality of basic
aspects including the most fundamental one, the concepts of planning and design than to the any
safety. Old building may decrease its ability to deal discipline in building structures. A statistical analysis
with the nature including earthquake. The adaptive of the civil engineer prefers a simple form rather than
use should consider the capability of the existing a complicated architecture that is unfortunately
structure so if needed, the reinforcement related to the preferred by most architects. Therefore, architects
new function should be done. Existing buildings will became an essential key in building safety against this
be considered earthquake vulnerable for less than earthquake compared with structural engineers
34% of structural requirements to resist earthquake though. Architect's creativity should not sacrifice the
loads (Simiona, 2015). Dealing with old building safety of the building user.
even harder than building the new facility. The role of By paying attention to the primary purpose of
architect is vital to lead the decision it may or may not earthquake-safe construction, the philosophy and
the building reuse or remove it and build the principles of demand and capacity performance of
substitution. earthquake-resistant buildings under seismic loads
are: (a) Under small and frequent vibrations, the main
CONCLUSIONS structural elements of the building should not be
damaged, but non-structural elements may be
Architects play a more significant role in the damaged but repairable. (b) Under moderate and rare
safety of a building than any other discipline because vibrations, elements of the primary structural system
they define the basic concepts of planning and may experience reparable damage and other parts of
building design. An architectural concept is deter- the non-structural elements may also be damaged. (c)
mined by taking into account all aspects including the Under the big and sparse vibrations, primary struc-
forms and functions as well as the systems used in tural elements can be severely damaged, but buildings
buildings that will affect the safety level from still have to stand.
earthquakes. Quakes affect the form, function, and Building safety against earthquake hazards can
non-structural elements of the building. In the aspect be achieved by understanding the following aspects as
of architecture and the structure, an architect also (a) Role of architects is not on the only closed related
plays a critical role because building structure experts, to the functions and forms of the buildings, but also
in general, tend to meet the demand of architects the strength as has been mentioned in the principle of
rather than maintain the ideal principles of the Utilitas, Venustas, and Firmitas. The firmness lies not
strength of the structure. only in the strength of the structural system but also
On the other hand, the building, in general, will on all aspects required for each building steps
not be built with 100% earthquake resistant for including feasibility studies, planning, design, con-
reasons of practicality and budget. The architect's role struction, utility, and adaptive reuse of buildings for
in earthquake-safe buildings in detail is as follows: (a) different functions. (b) Buildings have different
traditionally, the role of an architect is as a leading behaviors under quake shocks. Light buildings are the
actor in the process of planning and design to a most suitable buildings applied in areas with high

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 Earthquake Failures on Buildings and the Role

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