EARTHQUAKES

Ground shaking lasting sometimes for just a few seconds to up to over one minute affect construction that is not capable of handling the sway induced by these lateral vibrations. Mostly rigid structures with high center of gravity are subject to huge stresses at connector areas.Masonry construction is the first victim whereas lightweight steel of wood construction with adequate connector reinforcement can handle these exceptional stresses quite well.
Archimede systems has 3 great assets for earthquakes, whether on high columns or on a ground slab:

1. A system of shear walls oriented in three axis vs only two, as with orthogonal construction with right angle wall intersections.
2. Lightweight rigid construction where stresses and strains are distributed throughout the entire envelope.
3. Steel or concrete columns long enough to absorb most of the horizontal sway, thus protecting the shell held above (valid for stilt construction Archimede solutions).