Resilient Design refers to the ability of a building to be easily repaired following an earthquake. Framework was designed as a “low damage, rocking-wall resilient building”. This not only meets the code requirements for structures in seismic regions but goes above and beyond to ensure that the building will be easily reparable after a major earthquake. 

To achieve this goal, the lateral force-resisting system includes post-tensioned rocking CLT shear walls, with “Low Damage Design” features pioneered in New Zealand. These features include a pre-determined rocking plane at the base of the walls; replaceable energy dissipating “fuses”; special detailing at the floor-to-wall connections; and the self-centering characteristics of the post-tensioning system.

Full scale tests where undertaken at Portland State University to validate that the custom glulam beam-to-column connection developed for Framework could undergo the maximum anticipated seismic drift from an earthquake and remain undamaged.