Seismic assessment of large historic vernacular adobe buildings in the Andean Region of Peru. Learning from Casa Arones in cusco

Abstract

The country of Peru has a rich tradition of historic earthen structures from ancient archaeological sites to vernacular and monumental architectures. Nowadays, still a relevant part of the world population lives in earthen houses, which are found to be quite vulnerable to horizontal loading causing considerable loss of life over time. Hence, the importance of studying the seismic performance of these buildings to predict their capacity and failure mechanisms.After the destruction caused by the 2007 Pisco earthquake, the Getty Conservation Institute initiated a project to better understand the seismic performance of four historic earthen building typologies present in Peru. This paper addresses the seismic assessment of Casa Arones, which is considered as a prototype of the typology of large vernacular houses present in many historical centres of the Andean Region of Peru. Advanced numerical analysis is used to assess the global behaviour of the building, and to identify the damage distribution and failure mechanisms. The challenges faced in the study, related to the complexity of the structure and the insufficient information on its morphology and materials properties, are discussed. Moreover, sensitivity analysis is used to understand the influence of floors and roof on the global behaviour, which is a novel contribution.