Lincoln Hall Renovation

Lincoln Hall is a historic dormitory on the campus of the University of Nevada, Reno. The primary structural system is unreinforced masonry, which has proven to be susceptible to collapse during seismic events. The International Building Code was used as the basis of the seismic retrofit design as that code was developed for renovating and repairing older structures. During the initial phase of design, it was observed that the exterior brick walls contained numerous horizontal and vertical voids, which were built to promote ventilation. In addition to substantially weakening the building, the voids impacted the retrofit detailing. Testing of various anchor systems was performed to develop anchorage details that met design requirements.