A team of Japanese experts and the Department of Culture conducted a pull down test of masonry structures today. The test was done as part of an ongoing project aimed at improving seismic or earthquake resilience of traditional buildings in the country.
During the test, researchers pulled down four structures to test its strength and ability to withstand quake. Of the four structures, two were reinforced mud and cement structures and the other two not reinforced.
“We need to really see the characteristics, the typology, the way it behaves and that’s why, as of now, we are doing the simple element test,” said Pema, the Deputy Executive Engineer with the Department of Culture.
“But later, as the project progresses, we are going to build real size specimens. We are doing experiments because we don’t have any data to furnish. Later, when we do the actual experiment, I am very certain that we could really say how stable our traditional structures are.”
The 2009 and 2011 quakes destroyed quite a number of traditional buildings. This has made the need for a guideline on earthquake resilient traditional houses critical. “We are coming up with very comprehensive guideline to improve the seismic resilience of traditional buildings,” said Pema.
The guideline, he said, will be incorporated into the Bhutan Building Rules and Regulations so that everybody could implement it.”
The project to strengthen seismic resilience of traditional buildings completes will complete in 2022. It is expected to leave Bhutan better prepared for ensuring its traditional buildings are strong enough to withstand quakes.
Today, 66 per cent of the houses in the country are built traditionally using indigenous materials and techniques.
