Prof. Arun Menon, IIT Madras gave an online lecture on Challenges in seismic risk assessment and retrofit in historical heritage structures on 27 August under the IAStructE and IIIT Hyderabad’s monthly lecture series. 

Historical monuments and heritage structures, with the exception of construction in regions with a strong local seismic culture (LSC), are generally vulnerable to earthquake action due to the inherent nature of their construction materials and structural systems (for e.g., bulky unreinforced masonry, dry stack stone construction, etc.) and due to material degradation and deterioration over time. Engineers and architects responsible for the protection of such constructions with cultural value are faced with a number of challenges and constraints in the interventions possible to improve their seismic performance. In his talk Prof.  Menon  attempted to put these challenges and constraints into perspective to identify a possible way forward for the seismic protection of built heritage.

Prof. Arun Menon  holds a first degree in architecture, and Ph.D in earthquake engineering from University of Pavia, Italy. His research interests are in structural aspects of historical constructions, earthquake behaviour of historical masonry structures and earthquake-resistant structural masonry, and author/co-author in these areas in about 75 technical articles. He currently coordinates the activities of National Centre for Safety of Heritage Structures (NCSHS), a Ministry of HRD (Govt. of India) supported research centre at IIT Madras. He was an Expert Member on the International Coordinating Committee (BICC) for the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Bagan, Myanmar, and currently is a Member, Expert Advisory Group to the International Conservation Committee (ICC) for Vat Phou UNESCO World Heritage Site in Laos PDR. He has been involved in conservation projects in India (Rashtrapati Bhawan, IIM, Ahmedabad, Madurai Meenakshi Temple), Bhutan (Tango Monastery, Wangdue Phodrong Dzong), Myanmar (Bagan) and The Philippines (San Sebastian Basilica, Manila).