Effect of interior changes on earthquake resistance of buildings - case: reinforced concrete frame system

Earthquakes are one of the most disturbing natural hazards which cause enormous life and property losses. However, earthquake engineering has highlighted itself as an interdisciplinary subject over the past few decades. Different professions as seismology, structural and geotechnical engineering, architecture, urban planning, information technology and some of the social sciences, have began to address different characteristic effects on the earthquake resistance of buildings. The purpose of this study is to investigate lack of safety in the event of earthquake occurrence due to interior modification in the buildings during their life cycle. This study investigates the potential problems arising due to improper interior changes, applied on existing structures, and also tries to reveals the importance of careful considerations, before any modification from architectural point of view. This study reviews some background information regarding the issue of earthquake as well as a Turkish seismic design code of practice developed together with an explanation of the so – called “irregular building”. Also two case studies were performed to show the importance of interdisciplinary work of interior architects with civil engineers when performing any change on the building. Keywords: Earthquake Codes, Irregular Building, Interior Modification, Earthquake Architecture