Structural form for inherent seismic safety: Sardar Patel Stadium, Ahmedabad, India

Abstract

Seismic safety evaluation and performance assessment of existing structures provides an avenue to explore the value of the uniqueness of the structural design of many distinctive historic monuments, which thereby becomes a critical aspect of structural engineering research. Many historic structures have good seismic performance intrinsically incorporated through a careful choice of structural form, orientation of principal load-carrying elements and robustness of their structural design. The Sardar Vallabhai Patel Stadium situated in the city of Ahmedabad is a uniquely designed iconic structure of twentieth-century India. Designed by the architect Charles Correa and structural engineer Mahendra Raj, this historic structure is the first stadium in India to have a cantilevered roof structure. The stadium has been included in the ‘2020 World Monuments Watch’, which includes structures that have significant historical significance and contemporary social impact. Accordingly, the Getty Conservation Institute (GCI) has included this structure among 13 significant twentieth-century buildings that receive the ‘Keeping It Modern’ grants as part of the Conserving Modern Architecture Initiative by GCI. This work looks at presenting a structural appraisal of this iconic stadium and performing a seismic assessment of the structure to explore the fundamental load paths and investigate their adequacy in ensuring seismic safety.