On Tuesday, November 25, 2025, from 16:00 to 17:00 (CET), in English via the Zoom platform, the SAEE lecture "Out-of-Plane Behavior of Walls in Unreinforced Masonry Buildings" was held.
The lecture was delivered by Dr. Safak Arslantürkoglu, from Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering, Institute of Structural Engineering, ETH Zürich
Below you will find the lecture abstract, the speaker biography, lecture slides, as well as the recording of the presentation.
Abstract:
Out-of-plane (OOP) wall failures are among the most critical local mechanisms in unreinforced masonry (URM) buildings. Past earthquakes have shown that insufficient diaphragm action, weak wall-to-floor anchorage, and slender wall geometries can lead to out-of-plane collapse, often determining the overall seismic safety of the building. In Switzerland and many other countries, a large share of the existing building stock is highly vulnerable to such mechanisms. While seismic assessment traditionally focuses on global structural response, it is essential to explicitly consider OOP behavior, as local mechanisms can dominate failure. Various analytical and simplified approaches have been proposed to capture OOP performance, ranging from slenderness-based checks to kinematic models of rigid-body mechanisms. Yet, the diversity of possible wall configurations and boundary conditions continues to pose significant challenges for both analysis and design. This presentation provides an overview of the seismic behavior of URM walls subjected to out-of-plane loading, discusses current assessment methods and their limitations, and highlights ongoing developments in standards.
Presenter biography:
Safak Arslantürkoglu received his structural engineering diploma in 2013 from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. From 2014 to 2018, he worked at Baertschi Partner Consulting, where he contributed to the assessment and retrofit of existing structures throughout Switzerland.
In 2023, he completed his doctoral studies at ETH Zurich with a thesis on Risk-Based Seismic Assessment of Existing Unreinforced Masonry Buildings in Switzerland. His research addressed topics such as seismic hazard and risk evaluation, uncertainties in seismic assessment, development of performance metrics, and the role and evolution of structural codes, in particular SIA 269/8. His work focuses on developing methods to quantify seismic risk and implement effective mitigation strategies.
He is the founder and director of LEO Consulting, an engineering firm dedicated to the assessment, retrofit, and preservation of existing structures. The firm combines research-driven knowledge with practical engineering solutions in the fields of seismic safety, durability, and punching shear, and is also engaged in continuing education and training for engineering professionals.
On Tuesday, November 25, 2025, from 16:00 to 17:00 (CET), in English via the Zoom platform, the SAEE lecture "Out-of-Plane Behavior of Walls in Unreinforced Masonry Buildings" was held.
The lecture was delivered by Dr. Safak Arslantürkoglu, from Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering, Institute of Structural Engineering, ETH Zürich
Below you will find the lecture abstract, the speaker biography, lecture slides, as well as the recording of the presentation.
Abstract:
Out-of-plane (OOP) wall failures are among the most critical local mechanisms in unreinforced masonry (URM) buildings. Past earthquakes have shown that insufficient diaphragm action, weak wall-to-floor anchorage, and slender wall geometries can lead to out-of-plane collapse, often determining the overall seismic safety of the building. In Switzerland and many other countries, a large share of the existing building stock is highly vulnerable to such mechanisms. While seismic assessment traditionally focuses on global structural response, it is essential to explicitly consider OOP behavior, as local mechanisms can dominate failure. Various analytical and simplified approaches have been proposed to capture OOP performance, ranging from slenderness-based checks to kinematic models of rigid-body mechanisms. Yet, the diversity of possible wall configurations and boundary conditions continues to pose significant challenges for both analysis and design. This presentation provides an overview of the seismic behavior of URM walls subjected to out-of-plane loading, discusses current assessment methods and their limitations, and highlights ongoing developments in standards.
Presenter biography:
Safak Arslantürkoglu received his structural engineering diploma in 2013 from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. From 2014 to 2018, he worked at Baertschi Partner Consulting, where he contributed to the assessment and retrofit of existing structures throughout Switzerland.
In 2023, he completed his doctoral studies at ETH Zurich with a thesis on Risk-Based Seismic Assessment of Existing Unreinforced Masonry Buildings in Switzerland. His research addressed topics such as seismic hazard and risk evaluation, uncertainties in seismic assessment, development of performance metrics, and the role and evolution of structural codes, in particular SIA 269/8. His work focuses on developing methods to quantify seismic risk and implement effective mitigation strategies.
He is the founder and director of LEO Consulting, an engineering firm dedicated to the assessment, retrofit, and preservation of existing structures. The firm combines research-driven knowledge with practical engineering solutions in the fields of seismic safety, durability, and punching shear, and is also engaged in continuing education and training for engineering professionals.
