Earthquake Resistant Community Center Model - How to Build

by 28ConleyD in Design > Architecture

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Earthquake Resistant Community Center Model - How to Build

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This is an earthquake resistant community center that I designed which can house multiple families. I designed this to help areas prone to earthquakes such as Japan or the Philippines.


This structure can be designed in multiple way on the interior for housing but it is important that the main structure/skeleton stays The same. The way this structure helps communities in earthquake prone areas is it can prevent housing loss. However it's main design is to help provide housing and keep people safe after earthquakes especially during the aftershock period which can last months.

For a real building the dimensions would be L : 50 feet, W : 50 feet, H : 55 feet


The reason it is designed as a pyramid is because pyramids are one of the most stable structures in the world and the reason for the diagonal beams is to relive stress during earthquakes and aftershocks.

Supplies

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For small model

  1. 3d printer
  2. Tinkercad
  3. 3d printer slicing software (I recommend UltiMaker Cura)
  4. 3d printer filament
  5. soldering iron (for bigger builds to weld the plastic)

Design

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Use the stl. file below to get the structure (click "earthquake piramid improved.stl" to download )

Design the interior how you want

Test It

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Test the pyramids stress points an online earthquake simulator would be good for this. Also test how much weight it can hold along with how much pressure can be applied from the top. It should withstand these tests. My model was just the structure at 75% scale from the stl. My model could also hold me a 135 pound person.

How to Weld the Plastic (if Needed)

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Get some filament and put it where the two pieces meet and put the soldering iron on it like in the picture above and let it melt and it should partially melt part of the printed piece so the filament and the printed piece bind but if you have it too hot your piece will warp I recommend having the soldering iron temperature a little higher than the filament printing temperature. Let it cool should take a minute to a minute and a half. The final result should look like the picture above.