Allied Engineers is one of the most important general design companies in Romania. With 20 years of activity in the construction market, the company works on complex projects in the most diverse fields, in both the private and public sectors: from office and residential projects to public buildings, industrial objectives, and commercial and logistics spaces. BR sat down with Mihai Dragomir, m anaging p artner at Allied Engineers , and had a n in-depth discussion about how secure buildings are in Bucharest, what companies should do , seismic design , and many more topics.
What’s your view of Romania’s seismic design in 2023?
Since Romania is located in a seismically active region known as the Vrancea seismic zone, it is important for the country to have robust seismic design standards and practices. Seismic design in Romania is governed by a very modern set of codes that are aligned with the international engineering practice. These codes provide rules and guidelines for designing structures to withstand seismic forces, as well as requirements for proper construction practices and the seismic monitoring of buildings.
After the last major earthquake, the devastating event of 1977 that led to the collapse of over 30 buildings and around 1,500 fatalities in Bucharest alone, Romania made significant efforts to enhance its seismic design practices for new constructions and retrofit existing buildings. These codes have been continuously revised and updated over the years in order to reflect advancements in seismic engineering and lessons learned from past earthquakes, both local and global. These are state – of – the – art codes that ensure a proper seismic structural performance for new buildings.