Learning From Seismic Response of Instrumented Buildings During the 1994 Northridge Earthquake

In the aftermath of the January 17, 1994 Northridge earthquake hundreds of strong ground motion and building response accelerograms were retrieved from stations throughout the greater Los Angeles basin. Particularly important among the building response records were the data obtained from instrumented buildings which experienced relatively large ground motions. This paper provides a summary of the results obtained from an elaborate two-year project which included inspection of the buildings, damage assessment, performance evaluations. The forces, displacements, and dynamic characteristics interpreted from recorded data are contrasted with those suggested by building codes. Key response parameters and characteristics of each building are studied and where necessary observations are provided which may be used to improve future editions of the building codes.