Tuesday, January 27, 1998
Many buildings still need renovation
CONSTRUCTION Planned siesmic overhauls await funding to ensure
saftey
By Michael LaFemina
Daily Bruin Contributor
With the gala reopening of Royce Hall scheduled for April 4, it
seems that UCLA has recovered from the damage it suffered in the
Northridge earthquake.
However, although structures like Royce Hall have been repaired,
there are still several buildings on campus which need to be
seismically renovated.
These buildings are presently in such a condition that if an
earthquake did occur, there is a possibility that lives would be
lost.
The renovations will bring them up to a minimum standard of
safety which entails that a building might be damaged in an
earthquake, but no people would be injured.
"It is the university’s responsibility to respond as we learn
more (about seismic renovation)," said Duke Oakley, assistant vice
chancellor of Capital Programs.
"We need to feel like we are safe in the buildings here on
campus," he continued.
The organization responsible for evaluating the condition of the
buildings on campus is the Seismic Improvement Program, which is
part of Capital Programs.
This organization follows guidelines set by the state of
California and the UC Regents in determining the extent to which
existing structures must be renovated.
Basically, a building must be able to withstand the maximum
credible earthquake for this area of southern California, which is
presently rated at 7.2 on the Richter scale.
Structural engineers assume that there is a ten percent chance
of this maximum credible earthquake occurring in the next 50
years.
"Then, (we) consider what has to be done to the building so that
no one gets hurt in the next incredible event," Oakley said.
UCLA follows a life safety criteria in evaluating its
structures. This criteria entails that no person must be harmed
within a building in the event of an earthquake.
"We are not necessarily trying to save the real estate," Oakley
said. "We are trying to save the lives of the people inside."
There are several structures at UCLA which still need to be
seismically renovated in order to reach the standard of safety
predetermined by the state and the UC Regents.
The Haines Hall renovation is the next project on the list.
Construction will begin this winter.
In addition, the other buildings on campus which still need to
be renovated include the Jules Stein Building, Kinsey Hall, the
Dance Building, Engineering 1, and the Clark Library.
After Haines Hall, construction on the other buildings will
begin in 2001 and end in 2004. Not including Haines Hall, the total
cost of all projects will be $54 million, with a majority of the
funds being provided by the state.
There is a time lag before construction begins because UCLA can
not commence a particular project until the state allocates the
necessary funding.
"In working our way through the buildings, we are still doing it
largely by a life safety criteria," Oakley said.
"This seems like the logical way to spend the university’s
limited resources," he continued.
Oakley cited that the issue of seismic renovation involves a
decision of how funds are best spent on campus. Often, a more
stringent code of structural integrity, which entails that the
earthquake must neither harm people nor seriously damage the
building, is not followed because of limited resources.
"The dollars you spend (on renovation) you are not spending on
something else," Oakley added.
Royce Hall, though, has been renovated in agreement with this
stricter criteria because the project was financed primarily by the
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Of the $68.3 million
used in the renovation, 97 percent has come from FEMA.
FEMA, which provides funding to repair structures damaged in
emergencies, always follows the stricter criteria so that it will
not have to repair a building again after another earthquake.
Students opinion on campus is mixed as to whether seismic
renovation should be a primary issue for the university
"I go to Kerckhoff Hall every day," said Stacey Jensen, a
first-year biology major. "I’m not afraid of it falling down on
me."
Others, though, have a different opinion.
"If there is an earthquake, I want to know that the building I’m
in is safe," said Vincent Enrico, a first-year economics major.
"The school has a responsibility to renovate every building."