Structural engineering

Structural design

For constructing a new building, a structural design is required. The structural design includes calculating the stresses that the building will experience from dead loads, operating loads, and earthquakes, and the deliverable is formwork drawings for the foundation, basement, columns, beams, slabs of the building as well as details of anchorages, and connectors, and columns reinforcement. The solution is carried out according to the Eurocodes, the most modern calculation tool against earthquakes. A prerequisite for a structural design is comprehensive and detailed architectural drawings, a foundation soil study, as well as the environmental conditions of the project (distance from the sea, existence of groundwater, etc.).

Structural survey

A building’s structural survey is needed to certify whether the building under consideration is safe against earthquake and operational loads or whether it needs structural strengthening. To complete it, it is necessary to take into account the following:

• the time when the building was constructed and the construction materials,
• whether a seismic regulation (current or old) was used for the design of the building,
• the use of the building and any changes of use that have occurred along the way,
• any reinforcements, repairs or alterations,
• whether it has been damaged or deteriorated, and
• whether any modification, addition or change of use is planned.

Structural reinforcement survey

The structural reinforcement study for a building calculates how the building’s load-bearing structure will be modified so that the building will meet the safety requirements of modern seismic regulations. To carry out a strengthening study, the structural adequacy study must first show a structural deficiency. Both the structural reinforcement study and work on a building require experience and expertise. Otherwise, they may lead to more problems than they try to solve.