Case study: Damage of an RC building after a landslide—inspection, analysis and retrofitting

In 2000, due to a substantial landslide, the reinforced concrete (RC) structure of a residential building located in Coimbra, Portugal, was severely damaged. The first two levels of three columns were completely destroyed and, as a result, part of the building supported by these, with a dimension in plant of 9.5×6.7 m2, became a 7.0 m span cantilever with 12 stories.In this paper, the authors describe the following: the accident; the preliminary assessment of structural conditions; the immediate intervention; the strategy adopted to consolidate the damaged structure; the repair and strengthening works; the loading procedure of the rebuilt part of the structure; and the finishing operations. Some final remarks are also presented, including a proposal for robustness analysis.