Anti-seismic hung house

Description of the project

We started developing our project for a hung house after the Abruzzo earthquake of 2009, thinking about the possibility of using only the structural elements of a building in order to soften the seismic activity, without resorting to expensive interventions that need maintenance over time.
The research began studying the concept of “hung structures” and TMD dumping systems used for very high buildings, which led us to the ideation of a combined solution made of an external frame and a residential unit (which serves as dumping element) hung from it.
Our hung house is based on the fundamental concepts of lightness, flexibility and harmonious contrast among seismic movements. Its anti-seismic quality is clearly evident already from its architectonical structure.
The structure presents upper load-bearing cables (haulage cables) which sustain the weight of both the structure and the lower lateral cables: the latter act as stabilisers and allow to soften the movement of the house in opposition to that of the external bearing frame (plausibly in box-sectioned steel), on which the construction hangs.
The dumping is helped by the presence of a viscous damper (piston) placed at the extremity of the lower stabilising cables of the house, in proximity of the external frame’s connection to the ground.