Structural form for inherent seismic safety: Sardar Vallabhai Patel Stadium, Ahmedabad

Abstract

Seismic safety evaluation and performance assessment of existing structures provides an avenue to explore the value of uniqueness in structural design of many distinctive historic monuments, which thereby becomes a critical aspect of structural engineering research. Many historic structures have good seismic performance intrinsically incorporated through a careful choice of structural form, orientation of principal load carrying elements and robustness in their structural design. The Sardar Vallabhai Patel Stadium situated in the city of Ahmedabad is a uniquely designed iconic structure of 20th century India. Designed by architect Charles Correa and structural engineer Mahendra Raj, this historic structure is the first stadium in India to have a cantilevered roof structure. The stadium has been included in the “2020 World Monuments Watch” which includes structures that have significant historical significance and contemporary social impact. Accordingly, the Getty Conservation Institute (GCI) has included this structure among 13 significant 20th century buildings that receive the “Keeping it modern” grants as part of Conserving Modern Architecture Initiative by GCI. The current work looks at presenting a structural appraisal of this iconic stadium and performing a seismic assessment of the structure to explore the fundamental load paths and investigate their adequacy in ensuring seismic safety.