AN INNOVATIVE LIGHTWEIGHT INTEGRATED SEISMIC -ENERGY COATING SYSTEM FOR THE RETROFIT OF A MASONRY CLUSTERED BUILDING IN TIMIŞOARA CITY (ROMANIA)

Unreinforced masonry buildings represent a large portion of the building stock in most historical centres of European countries. In many cases, these constructions are not isolated, but grouped in clustered buildings made up of multiple adjacent structural units erected in continuity one to each other. Moreover, these constructions were realized without any seismic criteria and, nowadays, their requalification is an urgent need from both structural and energy points of view. In this paper, the vulnerability assessment of a masonry aggregate placed in Timişoara city (Romania) is investigated. Firstly, after collecting the main properties of the structure, non-linear analyses were performed obtaining the capacity curves. Subsequently, since the behaviour appeared inadequate to withstand seismic actions, a retrofit intervention was hypothesized. The choice was directed towards the use of lightweight metal exoskeletons arranged along the external facades of the aggregate, so to create a continuous coating. This solution simultaneously allowed for the improvement of both seismic and energy performances of the building, as the profiles are coupled with insulating panels. Finally, after the envelope system was dimensioned, its effectiveness was demonstrated repeating the pushover analyses and comparing the results in terms of seismic safety index.