U.S. Resiliency Council (USRC) Earthquake Building Rating System

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© U.S. Resiliency Council 2016

Website: www.USRC.org | Phone: (650) 877-2150 | Email: info@USRC.org

A New Tool for Architects in Designing for ResilienceThe US Resiliency Council (USRC) has launched a Building Rating System for earthquake hazards with other hazards such as wind, flood and blast currently under development. This first-of-its-kind performance rating is based on decades of earthquake engineering research and observations of earthquake damage and recovery.

A building performance rating helps owners, tenants, investors and other stakeholders understand how a building will perform in the next large earthquake. Without it, many owners may be surprised and disappointed with how their code-compliant buildings fare. Building codes are minimum standards developed to prevent collapse, not to eliminate damage or make sure the building remains usable after the earthquake.

Dramatic structural failures get press coverage but past earthquakes show that the most expensive repair costs are typically not from the structure but rather from elements like cladding, partitions, ceilings, mechanical, electrical and plumbing components. Critical or high value contents may be irrepairably damaged. Lost revenue and other business interruption costs sometimes exceeds the value of the building itself.

Architects Leading the Way in Resilient DesignOne-on-one with clients, architects advise on hundreds of decisions large and small that affect not just sustainability but also disaster performance and recovery. Architects have the power to guide clients in understanding the issues and making informed design decisions. Structural engineers have developed credible ways to predict building earthquake performance and can help design for better and more reliable performance in cost effective ways. Working together, design teams can achieve the client’s desired performance for structural, architectural and MEP components.

As a profession, architects have invested in research, training, and new partnerships to advance the science and practice of building resilience. For example, the American Institute of Architects (AIA) has produced policy statements and publications, hosted a Resilience Summit in 2015, and continues to work with other entities such as the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) in growing its National Resilience Initiative (NRI) funded by the Architects Foundation.

US Resiliency Council: Who We AreThe USRC is a 501(c)(3) non-profit led by professionals from many disciplines. Membership is open to public and private organizations, architectural and engineering firms, contractors, building owners, institutions, government agencies and any concerned stakeholder in the built environment.

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Forge partnerships to implement rating systems for other hazards such as hurricanes/tornadoes, flood, and blast.

Founding members include all major professional organizations involved in earthquake engineering, many large and small structural engineering firms, architectural firms, contractors, and hardware and software suppliers.

Is this the performance a client would desire?

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USRC Building Ratings: Dimensions and Definitions

Please refer to the disclaimers in the full version of Dimensions and Definitions at: http://www.usrc.org/rating-definitions

Injuries and blocking of exit paths unlikely: Expected performance results in conditions unlikely to cause injuries or to keep people from exiting the building.

Serious injuries unlikely: Expected performance results in conditions that are unlikely to cause serious injuries.

Loss of life unlikely: Expected performance results in conditions that are unlikely to cause loss of life.

Loss of life possible in isolated locations: Expected performance results in conditions associated with partial collapse or falling objects, which have a potential to cause loss of life at some locations within or around the building.

Loss of life likely in the building: Expected performance results in conditions associated with building collapse, which has a high potential to cause death within or around the building.

SAFETY: The potential for people in the building to get out after a disaster and avoid bodily injuries or loss of life. A safety rating is required in all building evaluations.

Minimal damage: Repair Cost likely less than 5% of building replacement cost.

Moderate damage: Repair Cost likely less than 10% of building replacement cost.

Significant damage: Repair Cost likely less than 20% of building replacement cost.

Substantial damage: Repair Cost likely less than 40% of building replacement cost.

Severe damage: Repair Cost likely greater than 40% of building replacement cost.

DAMAGE: Repair cost as a percentage of the building’s overall replacement cost including structural, architectural, mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems. It does not include damage caused by breaks/leaks in water and gas pipes or contents damage.

Immediately to days: The expected performance will likely result in people being able to quickly re-enter and resume use of the building from immediately to a few days, excluding external factors.

Within days to weeks: The expected performance may result in delay of minimum operational use for days to weeks , excluding external factors.

Within weeks to months: The expected performance may result in delay of minimum operational use for weeks to months, excluding external factors.

Within months to a year: Expected performance may result in delay of minimum operational use for months toa year.

More than one year: Expected performance may result in delay of minimum operational use for at least one year or more.

RECOVERY: An estimate of the MINIMUM timeframe to carry out sufficient repairs and to remove major safety hazards and obsta-cles to regain occupancy and use of the building, but not necessarily restore it to its full intended functions.

Better Earthquake Performance Doesn’t Have to Significantly Increase Costs Some clients can benefit significantly in the long run from investing in beyond-code earthquake performance, especially those who have buildings that are critical to their organization’s core business and that house functions or equipment not easily replaced or relocated. For a new building, a seismic design that results in five star performance may only add 1% to 10% to total up front construction costs, or about as much as a typical contingency budget.

USRC Ratings Give Users Critical New InformationA USRC earthquake rating considers many aspects of a building’s performance, including its structure, mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems, and architectural components such as cladding, windows, partitions, and ceilings. This assessment is then communicated by awarding one to five stars in three dimensions:

Helping Architects Deliver on a Broader Definition of Sustainability - Recovery Sustainability promotes designs that reduce our impact on the environment. The USGBC and other rating systems have revolutionized the industry for green construction. However, LEED® certified buildings are typically not designed for the environment to have lower impacts on them. Damage and loss of use for LEED®-rated buildings in Hurricane Sandy was significant.

Businesses are increasingly understanding that the ability of a community or business to respond to and rapidly recover from earthquakes and other natural disasters requires reducing the impact of shocks to the built environment on people’s lives and livelihoods. Community recovery and viability depend on it.

Architects Play Many Roles in Resilient Design Using USRC’s Rating System Architects are key in integrating resilience planning and objectives into the design process, just as they have been in the effort to integrate sustainability. They do this in many ways.

Architects work with clients and the structural engineer to understand the hazards of concern, their impacts on buildings, and to help establish appropriate performance goals and options for integrating them into the building design. A rating system is an analysis and communication tool to help with this process. Rating systems such as the USRC’s provide flexibility because they focus on estimating performance more than on prescribing certain features (as with LEED).

Architects educate the building owner / client about the multiple benefits of asking for and working with a USRC-qualified engineer. With a rating, owners can:

Better understand and control their risk exposure.

Increase resale value of the building.

Have a single, quality-controlled and portable report about the building’s expected performance.

Potentially improve lease rates because tenants are in a safer building and will be able to resume operations more quickly after an event.

Enhance their reputation and reap public relations benefits with the ability to display a rating placard on the building.

and advocate for the importance of a building rating for community resiliency and getting the economy back on track after the event.

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The public & community leaders need to know how well their buildings will perform in the case of earthquakes and other natural hazards so they can assess future disaster scenarios, reduce their

risk, and better prepare, respond and recover.

Architects work with the design team to implement the resilience performance levels for structural, architectural and MEP components in the building. This includes participating in assessing non-structural damage which is a major damage cost component.

Architects review building exterior skin and roofing and investigate options for allowing movement and maintaining waterproofing integrity.

Architects integrate the resilience and recovery design goals with sustainability goals.

Architects communicate the economic and ethical importance of addressing building performance deficiencies for a community as a whole. The public & community leaders need to know how well their buildings will perform in the event of an earthquake or other natural hazards so they can assess future disaster scenarios, reduce their risk, and better prepare, respond and recover.

Example of P-58 results on repair time and repair cost for different design options.

The performance of building systems affects not just occupant safety but also the cost and time to carry out necessary repairs and when people can begin reoccupying the building following an earthquake.

USRC’s Rating System builds on the model of USGBC LEED® ratings but addresses additional aspects of building performance that are of critical importance for businesses and the communities in which they and their employees work. The methodologies underlying use of USRC ratings will soon address the carbon impacts of building damage following a major event, showing further linkage between the goals of environmental sustainability and natural hazard resilience. The ultimate goal of USRC is to forge partnerships to implement rating systems for other hazards such as hurricanes/tornadoes, flood, and blast

Safety, Damage (Repair Cost), and Recovery (Time to Regain Basic Function)

Repair Time after M 7.2 Earthquake

Repair Cost after M 7.2 Earthquake

Design Option 1 4 Stars

Days

% o

f Rep

lace

men

t Cos

t

25%

20%

15%

10%

5%

0%

200

150

100

50

0Design

Option 2 3 Stars

Design Option 3 2 Stars

Design Option 1 4 Stars

Design Option 2 3 Stars

Design Option 3 2 Stars

300

250

35%

30%

46%40%

Structural Components

9%

1% 1% 2% 1%

Partitions InteriorFinishes

Cladding

Mean Loss Contributions by Component TypeM7.2 Earthquake

Plumbing and HVAC

Other Components

Collapse

Total Loss = 12% Replacement Value