Rethinking Resilience: How Advanced Engineering Can Save More Than Buildings

When there’s an earthquake, the true cost goes far beyond structural damage. The 2011 Christchurch earthquake in New Zealand devastated not just buildings, but entire communities.

Arun Puthanpurayil, Ph.D., is a technical fellow in advanced seismic and wind design and a technical director of structural dynamics at Beca Ltd., in New Zealand. He notes that after the 2011 earthquake, Christchurch’s business district was devastated, which completely disrupted the city’s entire “socio-economic fabric.”

To Puthanpurayil, this stark reality reveals a critical truth: sustainability in structural engineering is about much more than green materials. “If you define sustainability... it includes financial, social, material, and environmental impact,” he explains.

Traditional approaches to seismic design have focused narrowly on life safety—ensuring people can evacuate during an earthquake. But what happens after the ground stops moving? Too often, the answer has been costly demolition and prolonged business disruption.

Puthanpurayil points to advanced structural engineering design technologies, combined with viscous dampers, to identify optimized retrofit solutions for existing buildings.

“By employing advanced structural engineering design technologies, we are offering at least a savings of 50 to 60 percent on material cost in retrofit, achieving the same or in most cases much higher resilience [than that] achieved through traditional design approaches,” he explains. Advanced structural engineering goes beyond conventional design, using innovative technologies — such as a smart design platform like MOODD, which employs Performance Based Design approaches— to dramatically reduce potential damage during and after an earthquake.

The key to unlocking these savings is getting structural engineers involved early in the build or retrofit process. Puthanpurayil recommends collaborating with structural engineers as early as the concept stage, if possible. This can lead to more effective, resilient designs.

For building owners, this approach transforms sustainability from an expensive afterthought to a smart business strategy. As Puthanpurayil emphasizes, sustainability is “not just an ethical decision, it can be a smart business decision.”

Consider the financial implications: A building that can be quickly repaired and reoccupied after an earthquake saves months of potential lost revenue. Puthanpurayil says, in his experience, building retrofits designed using advanced structural engineering techniques can be back in action in six to ten months, compared to the years that are required with retrofits designed using traditional design techniques or new construction.

For building owners and developers, retrofitting a building using advanced engineering design and innovative technologies like viscous dampers can mean:

• Enhanced performance in a future event

• Reduced material costs due to damage reduction

• Faster recovery after seismic events

• Protection of property value

• Minimal business interruption

Collaborating with a structural engineer to deploy advanced engineering can lead to more resilient buildings—and communities. Puthanpurayil concludes, “the goal is to protect our societies through intelligent, forward-thinking design.”

Read Puthanpurayil’s article “Sustainability in Structural Design in High Seismic Regions,” in the March 2025 issue of STRUCTURE Magazine.