Notes on Kite Aerial Photography: Photo Gallery
Wurster
Hall, in the upper center of this image, is undergoing major structural revision
(Canon 24-mm, June 2000)
California is earthquake
country. During the 15 years I have lived in Berkeley, I have felt on average
around one earthquake per year. These are usually small events, maybe 3 or 4 on
the Richter Scale, but they are disconcerting nevertheless – buildings creak,
light fixtures sway, terra firma is not.
The Hayward
Earthquake Fault, an staggering store of impending mayhem, breaks the
earth's surface just a hundred yards or so from Wurster Hall, the building that
houses my academic department at UC Berkeley. The fault line bisects memorial
stadium, which is visible in the upper left of the adjacent image. A recent
structural evaluation of Wurster Hall found it severely lacking.
Between
2000 and 2002 Wurster
Hall, home of the College of Environmental Design, is undergoing a $26 million
seismic retrofit. In these images you can see the conversion of the building's
courtyard into a construction staging area and the addition of a construction
elevator to the north tower. (Canon 24-mm,
May 2000)
Wurster Hall emerged from the
process of seismic assessment with a rating of VERY POOR. Collapse was a
possibility given the right (or is it wrong?) ground motion. I was in Wurster
Hall during the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake. This magnitude 7 event was centered
over 60 miles to the southwest of Berkeley. Yet it caused the massive concrete
building to rock and sway dramatically for around 20 seconds. In a word it was
terrifying. So, the department was generally encouraged by the news that the
building would be strengthened.
Views of Wurster Hall from the north and west -- classic examples of one-point perspective. (Canon 24-mm, May 2000)
[ Home Page | Background | Equipment | Gallery | Maps | Discussion | Others | Search | What's New ]
Comments to author: crisp@socrates.berkeley.edu . All content,
graphics and
images contained throughout are Copyright (C) 1995 - 2005 by Charles C. Benton
and are protected by United States and International copyright laws.
No text, graphic or image may be used whole or in part, individually,
or as part of a derivative work without express written permission.
All rights reserved. Revised: Monday, November 18, 2002
URL: http://arch.ced.berkeley.edu/kap/gallery/gal161.html