The BauGrid® Reinforcement
System (B/GRS) has been specified in increasingly larger projects since 1988,
when it was first used as shearwall confinement reinforcement in a 17-story
San Francisco State University dormitory after being tested at the University
of California, Irvine by Professor Robin Shepherd, and at the University of
California, Berkley by Professor Vitelmo Bertero.The excellent performance of the structure
during the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake justified the use of higher ductility
factors in the earthquake design, which significantly reduced labor, material
and time to construct the 17-story dormitory which has 18 cm (7”) thick
bearing/shearwalls.An earlier
preliminary design with conventional reinforcement and its consequently low
ductility factor design required 25 cm (10") thick walls.