Cooperating Timber and Stone Antiseismic Frames in Historic Structures of Greece

Abstract

On the Kefalonia Island a Historical Building, dated to 1670, is located. The structure withstood successfully three catastrophic earthquakes in the past, until the severe earthquakes of 2014, during which it partially collapsed. Apart from the building’s historic value, it actually constitutes a rare example of double load bearing structure. The main concept behind this double anti seismic system is the following: Masonry walls transfer the loads of the wooden structure of the floor and the roof, which was also simultaneously supported by a row of wooden posts placed in parallel position and close to the masonry, by means of a wooden beam which was based on them. When, during earthquakes, parts of the masonry fail to function properly, then it is this second parallel system of wooden skeleton frame which takes over the load transfer, until masonry walls are repaired. Moreover, this system demonstrates very advanced and detailed connections of the wooden load bearing structures, which have pre-scheduled absorption capacity of the dynamic energy released by the earthquake. Therefore, this enables the structure to absorb the seismic energy during the severe earthquakes in the region of the Ionian Islands, avoiding in this way the building’s failure.