Is The Transamerica Pyramid designed to withstand earthquakes?
In a seismically active region, it is important to engineer buildings, especially skyscrapers, to withstand tremors. San Francisco is very close to the San Andreas and Hayward Faults in fact, in 1989, the 7.1-magnitude Loma Prieta earthquake struck the Santa Cruz Mountains about 60 miles away. Although the 48-story-high Pyramid shook for more than a minute, during which the top story swayed almost a foot from side to side, the building was undamaged. Such success can be attributed to the building’s careful structural engineering. In addition to its 52-foot-deep steel and concrete foundation, which is designed to move with earthquakes, The Transamerica Pyramid’s exterior is covered with white precast quartz aggregate, interlaced with reinforcing rods at four places on each floor. Clearance between the panels allows lateral movement in the event of an earthquake. In addition, a unique truss system above the first floor supports both vertical and horizontal loading, and interior frames ex
