Earthquake zone

1

3

class

Description

This encompasses buildings in which large congregations of people are not anticipated, and which can be considered as relatively earthquake-proof from the design point of view. The following types of buildings form part of structure class 1 in particular:

a) Apartment buildings and buildings utilized for similar
   purposes (e.g. office buildings) with the exception of high
   buildings), on condition that

 - adequate stiffenings are provided (see DIN 1053 Part 1,
   November 1974 edition),
 - the walls (particularly the gable walls) are suitably 
    anchored and stiffened,
 - the buildings are not erected on steeply sloping hillsides or
    on non-uniform subsoil
 - in the case of floors without adequate lateral distribution,
   additional peripheral ties are arranged (also above the
   internal walls).

b) Single-storey halls with light-weight roofing. If crane loads
    are suspended to the load-bearing system of such halls,
    these loads must not exceed 25 kN in total per roof truss.

c) Other simple and relatively small buildings, in which only a
   few people congregate, and which are of minor importance
   only.

This encompasses buildings in which relatively large numbers of people are likely to congregate, and which are likely to be endangered to a greater degree in the event of an earthquake. The following buildings in particular belong to structure class 2:

a) High buildings and buildings in accordance with 1a), in
   respect of which the conditions specified there in are not
   fulfilled,

b) Public buildings (e.g., schools including their associated
   sport halls), buildings with fairly large rooms accessible to
   the public (e.g., banks, restaurants), and public assembly
   halls (e.g., churches, theatres, cinemas, concert halls),

c) Multistorey factory and warehouse buildings with live loads
   p ≥ 7.5 kN/m², 

d) Wide-span halls or halls with heavy loads (e.g.,
   heavy roofing or crane loads in excess of 25 kN
   per roof truss).

This class encompasses all those buildings which are of special importance to the public, and which must consequently not only withstand earthquakes but remain operational after an earthquake. The following buildings in particular belong to structure class 3:

a) Hospitals,

b) Public utility installations,

c) Installations for dealing with the consequences of disasters, e.g.,
   fire brigade installations, Technical Emergency Corps.