On May 11, 2011 an earthquake of magnitude 5.1 ( TeX ) struck Murcia region causing nine casualties and damage to buildings and infrastructures. Even if the main characteristics of the event would classify it as a moderate earthquake, the maximum Peak Ground Acceleration (PGA) registered (equal to 0.37 g) exceeded significantly local code provisions in terms of hazard at the site. This high PGA was a result of directivity effects in the near source region. An overview of earthquake characteristics and damage observed is provided. Notwithstanding the lack of proper structural design characterizing building stock in the area, most of the losses were caused by non-structural damage. According to in field observations, it emerges that masonry infills provided additional, “not designed”, strength to reinforced concrete (RC) buildings. Observed damage data, collected after the earthquake, are shown and compared to the results of a simplified approach for nonstructural damage assessment of RC infilled structures (FAST vulnerability approach). The latter comparison provided a fair accordance between observed data and analytical results

A generalized formulation of FAST vulnerability method for Reinforced Concrete Moment Resisting Frame (RC-MRF) buildings with non-uniform distribution of masonry infills in elevation is presented. This method belongs to the wider family of spectral-based methodologies. It was already proposed for uniformly infilled frames, and then applied to different earthquakes for benchmarking purposes. The new generalized approach allows us to consider a reduction of the amount of infills at the ground floor. Thus, this new version of FAST is capable of computing all intermediate situations between the opposite cases: uniformly infilled and pilotis (no infills at ground storey) MRF. Finally, this generalized FAST method is applied to the case of the Lorca (Spain) 2011 earthquake, using parameters according to the local construction practice of the area. Results show a fair agreement with damage survey data.

A significant part of the European residential building stock is architectural heritage and is protected by law in different grades. Although these dwellings seldom fulfil the current eco-efficiency requirements, listed buildings are exempt from energy regulations requirements. This paper reviews the constructional characteristics common to 588 multi-storey listed buildings (circa 6000 dwellings) located in l'Eixample district in Valencia (Spain). The poor thermal performance of these buildings proven by this study reveal a significant potential for saving energy and reducing CO 2 emissions, particularly when considering the current requirements fixed by the current Spanish building code. Retrofitting measures, intended to improve the thermal behaviour of the envelope of these buildings while being respectful with their listed nature, are proposed for further analysis.

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