News — ground floors

Ditch ground floors to protect buildings from tsunamis, study suggests Research carried out at the École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) has suggested that sacrificing the ground floors of buildings may be the best way to protect them from tsunamis. PhD student Davide Wüthrich conducted a number of experiments using the Swiss university’s Laboratory of Hydraulic Constructions (LCH). A small metal box with numerous openings was used to simulate a building with multiple windows and doors. The box was placed in a 15.5m canal that could replicate tsunamis and storm surges. Wüthrich carried out over 350 different experiments in the test...