Palazzo Piazza Regina Margherita
OWNERS
CATEGORY | Civil & Industrial Buildings
SERVICES PROVIDED | Seismic assessment and retrofit
LOCATION | L’Aquila, Italy
PROJECT DURATION | 2012
PROJECT VALUE | € 1.747.914,27
The 2009 L’Aquila earthquake occurred in the region of Abruzzo, in central Italy. The main shock occurred at 03:32 on 6 April 2009, and was rated 5.8 or 5.9 on the Richter magnitude scale and 6.3 on the moment magnitude scale. Its epicentre was near L’Aquila, the capital of Abruzzo, which together with surrounding villages were the most damaged. There have been several thousand foreshocks and aftershocks since December 2008, more than thirty of which had a Richter magnitude greater than 3.5. The earthquake was felt throughout central Italy and killed 308 people.
Immediately after the emergency a large-scale plan for seismic assessment and retrofit started in the area hit by the earthquake.
Palazzo Piazza Regina Margherita is a classified historical building constructed in the 19th century. The masonry building has timber flooring and shallow foundations. It is located in one of the main squares (Piazza Regina Margherita) of Paganica (small town close to L’aquila).
The building that belonged to the Pica family since 1593 (one of the wealthiest families in L’Aquila) was badly damaged by the earthquake of 2009. The intervention consisted of consolidating the walls using mortar injections to restore their continuity and their original resistance. Steel rebars inserted at the intersections interlock the orthogonal walls. Deteriorated plaster was replaced by concrete jacketing and some of the walls have been reinforced with FRP strips. A new roof with a steel attic floor replaces the old timber roof, which makes the top of the building more sturdy. The flooring has also been stiffened and properly re-connected to the masonry walls.
Hopper Engineering and Consultancy was responsible for the seismic assessment and for the detailed design of the retrofit measures in collaboration with Adelio Rossi srl and ar studio di progettazione.
The retrofitting of the building has been successfully completed. The contractor was Technorestauri srl.
