Deriving Earthquake-Resistant Architectural Design from Natural Inspirations

An earthquake is one of the significant natural disasters that can cause considerable damage to buildings. Considering the country's location and the positioning of cities in earthquake-prone areas, addressing this issue is crucial for prevention and reducing potential impacts and damages. Among the issues that can reduce the vulnerability of buildings, architectural design, structural details, and force transmission methods are crucial considerations. By employing considerations in this field, buildings can be made earthquake-resistant. In this study, by examining nature-resistant patterns and employing a hierarchical process, suitable patterns for architectural design and structural details are selected, and appropriate structural designs are presented using ideas extracted from these patterns. The research method is descriptive-analytical, and ultimately, based on the assessments made regarding structural requirements and appropriate natural patterns, proposed designs are presented with software modeling. The presented models include: ۱- Mobile shell inspired by fish scales ۲- Mobile dome inspired by turtle shells ۳- Toothed shell inspired by armadillo scales ۴- Mobile ceiling inspired by interlocking fingers ۵- Structural wall inspired by grape leaves ۶- Permeable load-bearing wall inspired by bone tissue, which are categorized into two groups: roof materials and wall materials. The proposed elements have high structural and seismic resistance.

Keywords:

seismic retrofitting , structural assessment , natural patterns , seismic resistance