Monitoring of structural health and safety of Flores Hall and Valencia Hall: Inputs for repair, renovation and retrofitting phase I

The study focused on evaluating the structural health and safety of Flores Hall and Valencia Hall. The parameters used were the age of the building, carrying capacity or a number of occupants, the position or location, and geological and hazard maps, including building adjacency and the current state of structural members. The researchers used rapid visual screening in identifying observable hazards in terms of structural and non – structural components and utilized the mixed method of research. A rapid visual screening checklist was developed and followed by an interview to support the result of the checklist.

 Both Flores Hall and Valencia Hall already exceeded the number of years wherein the engineers and contractors can be held liable for any damages of the building. Both buildings are located approximately 35.7 km away from the West Valley Fault Line. Most of the structural components of the buildings were observed with no signs of degradation like major cracks, spalling, misalignment, etc. Most non-structural components manifest damages on the architectural finishes, electrical lines, and plumbing system.

 Based on the findings of the study, the researchers concluded that Rapid Visual Screening is an important tool in the preliminary structural and non-structural investigation of Flores Hall and Valencia Hall. Also, the data gathered during the Rapid Visual Screening will serve as inputs for the Non-Destructive Testing to determine the health and safety of the Flores Hall and Valencia Hall.