A 103m symbolic tower in the western Japan city of Osaka will have seismic base isolators in the piers 10m above ground. This will make the world’s first application for towers. The base isolation method enables to mitigate the effect of large-scaled earthquakes and allows it to maintain the current exterior appearances as a tourist attraction. Osaka-based Takenaka Corp. is in charge of design and construction. The work is scheduled to start in October and completion is due in June 2015.
An owner of the Tsutenkaku tower announced the plan on July 3 to install four isolators of rubber at each corner. A survey conducted by a seismic expert reported no serious deterioration in structures of the tower. With increasing possibility of huge earthquakes in the region, however, the company decided to retrofit the 58 year old tower after seismic evaluation revealed dangers of structural distortion when an earthquake as powerful as the projected Nankai Trough Earthquake hits Osaka. (2014/07/04)