Innovation - Spring 2024

Turkish infrastructures were protected using the base isolation system. Similar to Canada, Türkiye’s building code drills down to precise house addresses for building impact requirements, rather than by zone. “They also have performance objectives like we do in Canada. We want to make sure the buildings do not collapse—collapse prevention, immediate occupancy and life-safety performance objective.” Türkiye’s 2007 building code update included a chapter on assessment and retrofit for existing buildings, which Canada’s National Building Code does not have, said Yang. Canada’s code only addresses new structure requirements. Another difference is that Türkiye’s code addresses performance levels for multi-level shaking intensity earthquakes while Canada only focuses on two levels, designing for the maximum credible earthquake. The idea in Türkiye, explains Yang, is that buildings need to be

In the Türkiye delegation’s report, an elder from a small village was quoted saying, “in Japan, people run into buildings during an earthquake because they are safe, but in Türkiye, people run out of them during an earthquake.” When Japan experienced a 7.6 magnitude earthquake on January 1, 2024, an estimated 240 people died in the earthquake and related tsunami. Türkiye’s February 6, 2023, 7.8 magnitude earthquake and the aftershocks took 50,783 lives. Are we ready? Canada’s National Building Code is similar to Türkiye’s building code in many ways, explained Yang, in a post-trip earthquake insights seminar, October 13, 2023. Türkiye’s building code, most recently updated in 2018, is really robust, he said. “I am very proud of my Turkish colleagues,” he said. “They are not afraid of using novel technology such as base isolation dampers. All hospitals in high-seismic zones are required to be base-isolated.” Over 72 major

Innovation Spring 2024

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