This paper presents the experimental evaluation of an earthquake-resilient rocking damage-free steel column base, previously proposed and numerically investigated by the authors. The column base uses post-tensioned high-strength steel bars to control its rocking behavior, and friction devices to dissipate seismic energy. It is equipped with a circular steel plate with rounded edges, which is used as a rocking base. The rounded edges prevent stress concentration and damage of the contact surfaces, whereas the circular shape allows rocking toward all plan directions. In contrast to conventional steel column bases, the proposed column base exhibits monotonic and cyclic moment–rotation behaviors that are easily described by analytical equations. This allows the definition of a step-by-step design procedure which ensures damage-free behavior, self-centering capability, and energy dissipation capacity for a target design base rotation. The experimental tests, presented in this study, were conducted under monotonic and cyclic loads demonstrating the damage-free behavior even under large rotations. The experimental results were used to validate the design procedure and to calibrate refined three-dimensional (3D) nonlinear finite-element models that will allow further investigations.

On the 26th of November 2019, an earthquake of moment magnitude 6.4 struck the northwest region of Albania as the result of thrust faulting near the convergent boundary of the Africa and Eurasia plates causing widespread damage to buildings in the city of Durrës and the surrounding areas. Based on the official data from the national authorities, the earthquake caused 51 casualties and 985 million-euro losses, corresponding to 7.5% of the 2018 gross domestic product. This paper summarises field observations made by the Earthquake Engineering Field Investigation Team (EEFIT) after the event. The paper presents an overview of the seismological aspects of the earthquake together with a brief overview of the damage, official loss statistics and the estimated macro- and socio-economic consequences of the event. In addition, it provides a summary of the observed damage to both recent and historical buildings as well as the description of several case studies to illustrate the characteristic damage patterns observed in the main structural typologies of the Albanian building stock. These observations try to identify possible links between the observed damage patterns and the deficiencies in construction practice and use of inappropriate retrofit techniques for historical assets. As many severe damages were observed on modern buildings, this also allows the identification of some gaps and possible areas of development of the current seismic design code. In the end, the lessons learned from the field survey are resumed.