Unit 2 Discussion
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Geography
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Feb 20, 2024
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Unit 2 Discussion
GO125
1.When is building retrofitting a must? Choose a location on Earth and explain why would is building retrofitting the best way to go, what are the alternatives if retrofitting is not possible. Keep in mind Earthquake risk, tectonic setting, budget, current building codes in the country and current building state of the location you choose. Explain how the factors mentioned before affect your decision. What kind of retrofitting would most likely be needed, if any?
Retrofitting involves the modification or furnishing of the existing building with the new modified parts that are considered necessary at the time of manufacture, to improve energy efficiency or decrease energy demand. (Retrofit Existing Buildings, n.d.). Retrofitting buildings is a must as buildings consume a good amount of energy for both cooling and heating. It can be more cost-effective than building a new facility. With the consumption of energy, it is important to initiate energy conservation retrofits to reduce energy consumption and costs of heating, cooling, and lighting the buildings.
(Building Retrofitting and Building Codes, n.d.).
With that said, retrofitting buildings makes more sense to be used in seismically active areas. For countries with faulty earthquake codes, tectonic
settings, and budget limits, retrofitting is necessary. When an earthquake happens, afterward, retrofitting buildings allows authorities to begin reconstruction in the area more quickly. Businesses that use retrofitted buildings are more likely to sustain shorter business interruptions and fewer inventory losses. (Seismic Building Codes, 2023). A location where retrofitting is needed is California. California sits on the boundaries of multiple tectonic plates that are constantly moving, these are the Pacific Plate that moves northwestward relative to the North American Plate. The boundary between them is the San Andreas fault, which runs deep under California. (Schulz and Wallace, 2016). Because of these factors, retrofitting should be the primary direction they should go with. If it is not possible, an alternative would be soft-story retrofitting for homes and apartment buildings. This will fall under all the building codes for most of the populated cities in California. This is because retrofitting soft story strengthens part of the ground floor of the building so the existing structure can better withstand
the side-to-side shaking that occurs during an earthquake. (Soft-Story Seismic Retrofits, 2022).
References:
Building Retrofitting and Building Codes. (n.d). EU-GCC Clean Energy Technology Network. https://www.eugcc-cleanergy.net/node/990
Earthquake Risk: Seismic Building Codes.
(2023, May 23). FEMA. https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/risk-management/earthquake/
seismic-building-codes#:~:text=Seismic%20retrofitting%20of%20vulnerable
%20structures,recover%20from%20earthquakes%20more%20rapidly.
Paradis, R., (2016, August 15).
Retrofitting Existing Buildings To Improve Sustainability And Energy Performance.
Whole Building Design Guide. https://www.wbdg.org/resources/retrofitting-existing-buildings-improve-
sustainability-and-energy-performance
Retrofit Existing Buildings.
(n.d.). Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. https://www.energy.gov/eere/buildings/retrofit-existing-buildings
Schulz, S., and Wallace, R.,(2016, November 16).
The San Andreas Fault.
USGS. https://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/earthq3/safaultgip.html#:~:text=Two
%20of%20these%20moving%20plates,causing%20earthquakes%20along
%20the%20fault.
Soft-Story Seismic Retrofits.
(2022, July 26). California Residential Mitigation Program. https://www.californiaresidentialmitigationprogram.com/Resources/Blog/
what-Is-a-soft-story-earthquake-retrofit#:~:text=Simply%20put%2C%20a
%20soft%2Dstory,that%20occurs%20during%20an%20earthquake.
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