LA Times had an article about this a few days back.  Apparently building
experts in LA are sitting the fence on the issue, since they weren't
sure that enough testing had been done on the proposed new joints.  As
for me, the building I live in survived violent shaking in Santa Monica
during Northridge, and afterward was reinforced to be even better than
before 1994...that seems like a good criteria to go by.



Mike Price wrote:

> Yesterday CNN reviewed a FEMA report that steel frame buildings,
> especially those built prior to 1994, contained a design
> flaw that concentrated temblor stresses at weld points between
> beams. New designs move stresses into the beams themselves
> for increased strength. Apparently this failure mode was
> observed in Kobe.
>
> Can anyone point to more in-depth information about this?
> If design changes were introduced in 1994, why is this news
> now? Have there been analyses of high-rise, steel frame
> buildings in LA or San Francisco that indicate they are
> more likely to be damaged than was previously thought?
> What design changes were introduced?
>
> Thanks,
> Mike Price
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