Amogh N P
✦ In loving memory of Amogh N P — Architect · Designer · Visionary ✦
B.Arch Curriculum · Semester 7 · Elective

Earthquake Resistance Architecture

Earthquakes do not kill people — badly designed buildings do. This elective gives the architect the seismic literacy to design buildings that protect life, working alongside the structural engineer rather than leaving it all to them. It begins with the fundamentals — what an earthquake is, how the ground shakes, and India's seismic zones. It studies how the ground and different buildings actually behave when the shaking comes, and why some collapse. It teaches the single most architectural seismic lesson — building CONFIGURATION: that a symmetric, regular, well-proportioned building survives where an irregular one with a soft ground storey, a short column or a re-entrant corner fails. It covers seismic detailing for masonry, RC and steel, and ends with the urban and disaster-planning view, from Bhuj and Latur to the tsunami coast.

5Units
6Outcomes
3Credits
FreeForever
Start with Unit I All student courses
Unit III · The architect's heart of the course

Seismic Codes & Configuration

This is the heart of the course for an architect, because building CONFIGURATION — the shape, symmetry and regularity an architect decides at concept stage — does more for earthquake safety than any later structural fix. A symmetric, regular, well-proportioned building survives; an irregular one with a SOFT GROUND STOREY, a SHORT COLUMN, RE-ENTRANT CORNERS or TORSION fails, however much steel is added. This unit covers the seismic code provisions and the Indian codes (IS 1893, IS 4326, IS 13920), and then the configuration rules every architect must internalise. Test a configuration with the checker.

Four virtuesSymmetrySoft storeyShort columnConfiguration checker
Open the unit

The syllabus

Five units, from the moving fault to the resilient city.

Transcribed from the official B.Arch syllabus. All 5 units are live as full interactive lessons, each with original diagrams, a self-assessment quiz and studio work.

1

Unit 1 — Fundamentals of Earthquakes

Live

The Earth's structure; seismic waves; plate-tectonics theory and the origin of continents; the seismic zones of India (IS 1893, Zones II–V); the predictability, intensity and measurement of earthquakes; and the basic terms — fault line, focus (hypocentre), epicentre and focal depth.

CO1
2

Unit 2 — Ground & Building Performance

Live

Historical experience; site selection and development; the effects of an earthquake on the ground — soil rupture, liquefaction and landslides; the behaviour of different building structures, equipment and lifelines and their collapse patterns; and the behaviour of non-structural elements — services and fixtures — in earthquake-prone zones.

CO2CO3
3

Unit 3 — Seismic Codes & Configuration

Live

Seismic design-code provisions and an introduction to the Indian codes; and — the architect's heart of the course — building configuration: scale, size and the horizontal and vertical planes, building proportions, symmetry, torsion, re-entrant corners, and irregularities such as the soft/short storey and the short column.

CO4
4

Unit 4 — Construction Details

Live

Seismic design and detailing of non-engineered construction (masonry, wood and earthen structures); of RC and steel buildings; and of non-structural elements (architectural elements, water supply, drainage, electrical and mechanical); the lessons of Bhuj, Latur and other Indian disasters; and design guidelines for disaster-resistant construction against floods, cyclones and tsunami.

CO3CO5
5

Unit 5 — Urban Planning & Disaster

Live

The vulnerability of existing buildings; facilities planning and fires after an earthquake; the socio-economic impact of earthquakes; urban-level planning strategies for seismic resilience; and the design of resilient institutional and multi-storey buildings.

CO6

Course outcomes

What you should be able to do after the elective (CO1–CO6, from the syllabus).

1
Understand

Understand the formation and causes of earthquakes and the basic terminology.

2
Understand

Understand the factors to be considered in the design of buildings (ground and building behaviour).

3
Understand

Understand the services and non-structural elements that must resist earthquakes.

4
Apply

Become familiar with the seismic design codes and building configuration.

5
Understand

Understand the detailing for designing earthquake-resistant structures.

6
Apply

Apply urban-level planning strategies for earthquake resilience.

Every diagram is original Studio Matrx work. This is the architect's seismic course — configuration, detailing and planning — not the engineer's calculations, which live in Structures and Design of Structures; the IS 1893 seismic zones also appear in Building Codes. We flag the myths — there is no Zone I (only II–V), and earthquakes don't kill people, badly designed buildings do.

Earthquakes don't kill people — buildings do.

Fundamentals and zones, ground and building behaviour, configuration, detailing and disaster planning. Work the five units, study the diagrams, then test yourself.

Open Unit I Back to Students

Studio Matrx is a tribute to Amogh N P. The curriculum is free, forever.