Seismic Retrofit · 2023
Bracing a landmark without closing it
Gallery North Museum
100%
Assessed
0 days
Downtime
Full
Code met
Overview
Seismic assessment and retrofit of a heritage masonry museum kept open throughout the works.
The challenge
The unreinforced masonry building was a protected landmark, so visible steelwork was unacceptable, yet the structure fell well short of current seismic code.
Our approach
We modelled the masonry with detailed nonlinear analysis, then hid the strengthening inside the fabric — reinforced shotcrete on concealed faces, fibre anchors through wall cavities, and a new diaphragm above the ceiling line.
The outcome
The museum reached full code compliance while staying open to visitors, and not a single strengthening element is visible from the galleries.
A structure like this?
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