Shake, Rattle, and Stay

A consortium of experts has developed a new structural system. The precast hybrid movement resistant frame, also known as the hybrid frame, will accomodate high-rise buildings during earthquakes, reducing damage to negligible levels. The frame focuses on joints which combine elastic and inelastic action, allowing the building to accomodate the motion of a quake and avoid the residual drift or building lean most structures suffer after a quake. Approved by the Uniform Building Code, the hybrid frame is relatively inexpensive to implement and is already being used in a new 39-story building under construction in San Francisco.