Shake Up: Post Disaster Housing in Nepal

Shaking tables have been used by civil engineers, to help understand the relationship between building structures and seismic behaviour since the 1960s (Bairrao et al. 1999). They are used to determine the responsibilities and characteristics of structural materials’ under seismic loads. Furthermore, they are a realistic and clear response indicator of geotechnical problems during an earthquake (Alaie et al. 2018). Research indicates there is little to limited use of these in the architectural design purposes. This thesis will review the concept use of the new Quanser Shake Table II for architectural design at the Faculty of Architecture and Design Innovation, Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington, in addition to a structural tool for civil engineering. In this thesis, the concept of the new Quanser Shake Table II being used for architectural design is investigated with specific reference to post-disaster housing in Nepal. The literature and case studies on Nepalese house design are reviewed with the objective of bridging the gap between traditional building methods and modern seismic codes. Additionally, the aftermath of the magnitude 7.8 Gorkha Earthquake, which occurred on 25th April 2015, is evaluated to identify gaps in the current research and rebuild of Nepal. Following the Literature Review and conversations with the Nepalese community based in New Zealand, several design options were tested on the Quanser Shake Table II. The models were modified in response to the results of the initial testing. The results from testing the various models on theShaking Table were used to determine whether it can be used as a design tool for post-disaster housing.