As a result of significant changes to Building Code following the 1994 Northridge earthquake in Southern California, DeSimone was retained to design a full seismic upgrade to this hotel
A three-dimensional finite element model was developed and analyzed to determine the structure’s weak points
Steel plates were fastened to shear wall elements and floor slabs to increase the building’s toughness
Modeling results enabled DeSimone to develop an innovative repair scheme that that cut the cost of the structural upgrade budget by half
