CE 551-004 * ARCH 412-010 * ARCH 512-001

Tuesdays, 7:00 - 9:30 p.m.

Architectural Surety^Ò: Assuring the Performance of Structures

Civil Engineering Department/School of Architecture and Planning

Spring 1999 at the University of New Mexico

The remains of the U.S. embassy in Dar es Salaam (a BBC photo)

The normal, abnormal, and malevolent threats to the as-built environment faced by today's architects and engineers demand a new approach. In the wake of the embassy bombings, Hurricane Mitch and other climatic and seismic activity, global civil and ethnic unrest, criminal and political terrorism, and other indicators of a rapidly transforming public world, the growing awareness of vulnerability leads to increasing expectations and responsibilities for the design professions. The escalating threats and risks to the public and the infrastructure change the roles of the designers, architects, planners, engineers, and builders.

This course will introduce the surety issues (safety, security, and reliability) that are involved in the design and construction of the built environment. Assuring the performance of buildings and infrastructures as they are subjected to normal, abnormal, and malevolent conditions requires an integrated, risk management approach. The multidisciplinary approach involves identifying threats, assessing risks, and applying available technologies and techniques to mitigate system vulnerabilities. Life-cycle design, new construction materials and methods, countering terrorism, crime prevention through environmental design, assessing vulnerabilities, failure analyses, performance-based codes, human factors, the sustainable environment, ethics, litigation, innovative technologies, on-going research and development, education, and a host of related surety issues will be explored. Guest lecturers will illustrate the impact of surety issues on their particular areas of expertise. Including surety concerns at all phases of construction projects will improve the performance of the infrastructure by enabling architects, engineers, and builders to meet the challenge.

CONTACTS for Further Information:		Rudolph V. Matalucci (Sandia), 505-844-8804
		Dennis S. Miyoshi (Sandia), 505-845-9926
		Professor Jerome Hall (UNM), 505-277-1418
		Information Professor Stephen Schreiber (UNM), 505-277-2053