Turkey's grand challenge: Disaster-proof building inventory within 20 years

Turkey is located in a high seismicity region and has suffered extensive losses due to several major earthquakes that struck its various parts in the past two decades. While earthquakes are associated with damage and loss wherever they may occur, the destructive effects of those in Turkey are exacerbated by the large volume of code incompliant buildings constructed with poor materials and workmanship. As a large scale remedial initiative, Turkey has recently embarked upon a grand challenge of retrofitting or renewing all high-risk buildings within the next 20 years. This multi-million building and multi-billion dollar initiative has inevitably raised activity and debates in diverse disciplines regarding all aspects. This paper focuses on the methodologies and developing technologies for rapid condition assessment and structural evaluation of existing buildings in order to identify and prioritize high-risk buildings and for guiding decisions on retrofitting or renewal.