Seismic Retrofitting and How it Can Preserve History

Manila Before WW2
Image Source:http://www.illustradolife.com/

Gone are the days when Manila was called as the “Paris of Asia”. As sad as it may seem, many of our national treasures like the Alfonso Zobel Mansion, the Avenue theater in Avenida, the Jai Alai Building and the recently demolished Hyatt Hotel which was built by the national artist Nick Joaquin and many historical landmarks are destroyed unconsciously citing reasons that the buildings demolished are dangerous and might be harmful to the society if not taken down.

If only those people behind it knows that there are preventive measures that can be done to reinforce these buildings, history would be preserved and will hopefully be seen by the kids today and of the future. If only they would know that there are provider of retrofitting supplies in the Philippines then these precious gems would be saved.

What exactly is Structural Retrofitting or Seismic Retrofitting?

Seismic Retrofitting is a process of strengthening a building by strengthening weak connections between the roof and the wall, shear walls and roof diaphragm.  Through seismic retrofitting, a building can have more resistance to seismic activities or earthquakes which can save more lives and can be applied to old buildings like the ones demolished in Manila. Not only buildings can benefit from these but also bridges and dams.

How can we benefit from Seismic retrofitting?

If you are in a real estate business, then this will have a great impact in your business. If your building would go under a seismic retrofitting process, it will increase the property’s marketability because many buyers are attracted to the security a retrofitting process would provide.

With the security provided by the retrofitting process, the risk of injury and legal litigation will be reduced too. This would be useful to owners because if it will be proven that they were aware that the building needed a structural work but neglected it, no insurance will agree to give premiums on negligence.

Lastly, if you own a seismic retrofitted building, business men who will occupy a space on your property would agree to rent for longer periods of time because they are sure that their businesses will be secured.

For our old historical buildings in Manila, only time will tell when it will be destroyed but I am sure that by applying structural improvements like seismic retrofitting, it will be ageless and would help significantly to Manila and the Philippine tourism as well. Old hotels will be landmarks like the Manila Hotel and would continue to accept guests while other buildings would serve its purpose.

I hope you enjoyed this post! This article is brought to us by Polymer products Philippines Inc. .