Japan is notoriously a high earthquake risk country where technologies aimed at earthquake damage mitigation have been developed over time. At the same time, increasingly stringent regulatory changes have made Japan the place other countries look to when it comes to this issue, and the country the whole world looks to for seismic protection. Historically, both Japan and Italy are earthquake-prone countries and the technologies required to provide protection to buildings and therefore the safety of people have been widely developed and tested in both countries. Japanese antiseismic engineering is based on several complementary systems:
- antiseismic systems (such as the use of walls and pillars to withstand shocks)
- damping (to dissipate kinetic energy)
- seismic isolation (to decouple the superstructure from the foundations and thus prevent the propagation of seismic waves).
How do they build an earthquake-resistant house in Japan?
Following regulatory updates, since 1923 Japanese structures must be made of reinforced concrete and steel to ensure greater flexibility in the event of a seismic event; wood and steel characterize the highest parts of buildings, which require lightweight construction.
Seismic isolation of reinforced concrete structures ensures that the foundations and the low floors of the structures are protected if an earthquake strikes, while the antiseismic measures of steel structures, used on the highest floors of buildings, prevent the structure from folding back on itself and collapsing, if subjected to swaying of earthquakes. The antiseismic house in Japan has a series of elements required by law, including reinforced pillars, dissipative elements between floors, doors and window lintels, wire mesh glass for windows, low-stiffness elastic steel alloys and seismic isolators.
Japan-inspired antiseismic technologies
In addition to the indicated construction features, an innovative technology used in Japan for several years is AMD (active mass damper) systems, masses moved by mechanical arms with electronically controlled oscillations.
It is precisely these ways that inspired us to create active antiseismic devices that withstand the forces of earthquakes to minimize the movements of the building and to protect it from possible damage. Drawing inspiration from Japanese experience and know-how, we have designed a system that allows for minimally invasive antiseismic interventions, that is affordable to everyone and is not time-consuming. From the success of Japanese technology, to earthquake protection in Italy.
Find out about ISAAC technology.
