Building Safety

2 July, 2024

Earthquake Faults Endanger Both New and Existing Buildings

By |2024-09-25T22:55:31+00:00July 2nd, 2024|AACSC, Building Safety, Buildings Vulnerabilities, Earthquake Protection|

The dilemma of whether to allow new construction on active earthquake faults remains contentious. Equally pressing is the issue of the many structures already positioned over these hazardous fissures.

These concerns have emerged prominently in areas like Hollywood and other parts of Southern California, where active faults run through numerous neighborhoods.

In […]

2 December, 2023

Science Offers Best Seismic Safety Answers

By |2023-12-20T19:39:46+00:00December 2nd, 2023|AACSC, Building Safety, Buildings Resilience, earthquake preparedness, Seismic Engineering|

A recent social media post raised the following question about earthquake safety.

Q: Is there a way to know how safe your apartment building is in case of an earthquake? 

One person commented that if her apartment is still standing, it has survived everything until now — wrongly implying that the building […]

2 October, 2023

Are Your Building’s Balconies Safe?

By |2023-10-17T20:17:54+00:00October 2nd, 2023|AAOC, balcony Laws, Building Balcony Safety, Building Safety|

Coastal communities provide an abundance of breathtaking views, often enjoyed from rows of balconies facing west to the ocean and setting sun. These perches are iconic in seaside communities — a big draw for tenants entertaining friends, relaxing with a book, or enjoying their own piece of the outdoors.

Considered a […]

1 October, 2023

Will The Big One Increase Homelessness?

By |2023-10-17T19:59:59+00:00October 1st, 2023|AAGLA, Building Safety, Earthquake Threats|

How would a major earthquake impact California’s growing homeless population?

In 2019, the number of people in the state without homes grew by more than 21,300 people, or 16.4% — more than all other states in the nation combined — the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development reported.  It rose […]

11 July, 2023

Retrofit Laws Aim to Make Quake Vulnerable Buildings Safer

By |2023-07-20T22:29:51+00:00July 11th, 2023|Building Safety, Earthquake Retrofit, Non-Ductile Concrete Buildings, Soft Story Seismic Retrofit, steel moment frame”|

A number of Southern California cities have adopted seismic retrofit requirements that go beyond the earthquake retrofit ordinance passed by Los Angeles in 2015.

These cities are ordering vulnerable “steel moment frame” buildings to be upgraded.

A popular type of construction in which a building’s skeleton is made of steel beams and […]

4 May, 2023

5 Tips to Upgrade Your Building’s Resilience and Marketability

By |2023-05-16T17:46:55+00:00May 4th, 2023|AAOC, Building Safety, Buildings Resilience|

Does your apartment building meet today’s standards for functionality, design and seismic safety?

Today’s tenants have higher standards when it comes to style, convenience and earthquake safety. A recent Suffolk University/Los Angeles Times poll showed that 80% of Angelenos support their city’s mandatory seismic retrofit law —and, there are many vulnerable […]

2 May, 2023

Upstaged by pirates and ice cream, building safety matters, too

By |2023-05-16T17:08:40+00:00May 2nd, 2023|Building Safety, Buildings Resilience, SDCAA|

Happy Building Safety Month! This low-profile observance, an international celebration of safe and sound structures, rarely gets noticed outside of the industry. It’s the unsung understudy to causes nearer and dearer to people’s hearts like ice cream, talking like pirates, even Ferris wheels.

Yet buildings play an ever-present and vital role […]

1 March, 2023

Reduce, reuse – and retrofit

By |2023-03-10T21:06:45+00:00March 1st, 2023|Adaptive Reuse, Building Safety, Buildings Resilience, Carbon Footprint Reduction|

Combatting climate change is becoming serious business in the U.S. and California with ambitious initiatives designed to curb our dependence on fossil fuels that promote global warming.

In September, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law sweeping legislation to accelerate the state’s transition to 90% clean energy by 2035 and achieve carbon […]

2 February, 2023

New construction alone won’t stop L.A.’s housing affordability crisis

By |2023-02-08T21:27:08+00:00February 2nd, 2023|AAGLA, Building Safety, Buildings Resilience, housing affordability|

New luxury apartment homes are sprouting up throughout Los Angeles – in the heart of Koreatown, Little Tokyo, in West Hollywood, Glendale, Culver City, even downtown. Amid all the new construction, the need for more affordable housing continues to grow.

From 2010 to 2019, the city lost thousands of homes considered […]

14 April, 2022

Building safety upstaged by ice cream?

By |2022-06-14T17:58:49+00:00April 14th, 2022|AAGLA, Building Safety, Buildings Resilience|

Happy Building Safety Month! This low-profile, international observance for safe and sound structures, rarely gets noticed outside the industry. It’s the unsung understudy to fun causes nearer and dearer to people’s hearts – taking a back seat to ice cream, talking like pirates, even clowns.

But buildings play an ever-present and […]

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