Seismic Rehabilitation
of Eaton's Building
Montreal, Canada

Covered Area : 1,000,000 sq.ft.
Construction Cost : $110 million.
Savings : More than 50% in seismic upgrade cost and time.

The existing Eaton building is located in the heart of the shopping district in downtown Montreal. This nine-storey building was built in several phases, from 1925 to 1959. It has both concrete and steel frames. The Eaton building has a beautiful stone façade. The existing structure derived its lateral stability mainly from the perimeter masonry walls, partition walls and concrete frames. The preliminary analysis indicated that the resistance of existing structure was less than half of the lateral seismic forces specified in the National Building Code of Canada.

In 2000, new ownership of this building prompted a major redevelopment of this building. The planned renovations lead to significant changes in the interior and further diminished its seismic resistance capacity. It was necessary that seismic rehabilitation work be undertaken along with the architectural renovations to protect the existing and new investment.

Of the several schemes, the introduction of supplemental damping using Pall Friction Dampers in steel bracing was considered to be the most effective and economical solution for seismic upgrade. This novel upgrade approach significantly reduced the drifts and base shear while greatly minimizing the strengthening of the existing members. As the seismic forces exerted on the structure are significantly reduced, the system offered savings in upgrade costs. Besides savings in the upgrade cost, the saving in life cycle cost could be significant as damage to the building and its content is minimized.

A total of 161 Pall Friction Dampers of 500-700 kN slip load were used. The building was completed in 2002.