While most of these are so minor that they are barely felt, it is the large quakes that are most concerning due to the damage they cause and the loss of life. Listing all 39 of the world’s earthquakes above a magnitude of 8.5, 12 had occurred in Chile. The most powerful occurred near the city of Valdivia in 1960 at a magnitude of 9.5, making it the largest in recorded history.
With this danger constantly looming in the background, the Chilean government has implemented some of the strictest building codes in the world. To meet this challenge, architects and engineers have worked together to develop the latest technologies to help structures absorb the shock while also protecting the people inside.
Juan Carlos de la Llera is the president and co-founder of the company Sirve, which has developed quake resistant technology. Basing his design around X-shaped dampers, Juan was eager to prove this technology was reputable. Wanting to showcase his work, the company won the contract to the Torre Titanium La Portada office building, doing the work nearly at cost. The construction was completed in January 2010. Less than two months later on February 27, Chile was hit with another record breaking quake. As a result of his work, Santiago’s tallest office building was able to withstand an 8.8-magnitude quake with only cosmetic damage. Word spread quickly about the successful innovation with Sirve receiving a $2.2 million investment within a year. Today, Sirve is a successful company receiving a numerous rewards and sells their products all over the world. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lists_of_earthquakes#Strongest_earthquakes_by_magnitude
http://www.volcanodiscovery.com/earthquakes/chile.html
http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/02/world/americas/chile-earthquake/
http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/02/world/americas/chile-earthquake/
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2012-01-03/chilean-engineer-s-designs-help-santiago-s-skyscrapers-endure-earthquakes
http://sirve.cl/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titanium_La_Portada