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Working to Build a
Safer Campus and Community
Loma Prieta, the 1991 firestorm, El Nino. . . . Is Mother
Nature trying to tell us something? If so, Berkeley is
listening. Since the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989, the
Berkeley public schools, the City of Berkeley, and the
university have each surveyed their buildings, sought
funding, and begun rebuilding and strengthening facilities
to minimize the hazards to life safety.
The Northridge and Kobe earthquakes in 1994 and 1995
provided important information about earthquakes and their
effects on buildings. UC seismic and structural experts
used that information to advise the City of Berkeley on
retrofitting city hall and the construction of a new public
safety building. Preparations are now underway to relocate
these important city functions while the seismic projects
are completed. Other projects have addressed the critical
needs of fire stations, including a new emergency operations
center.
In 1992, the Berkeley public schools passed a bond
measure to repair or replace school facilities throughout
the district. Six years later, the results are evident as
new -- or newly refurbished -- schools are completed
throughout the city.
For many years, the university has rebuilt and repaired
campus buildings as public or private funds become
available. Much of the current campus construction involves
seismic work -- Hearst Memorial Mining Building, for
example, is using state-of-the-art base isolation technology
to preserve the historic building. Other seismic projects
include the historic Dance Facility, Doe Library, Goldman
School of Public Policy, McCone Hall, and Haas Pavilion.
Last fall, the university issued a 10-point action plan
for seismic safety on the Berkeley campus. It is called the
SAFER Program (a Seismic Action Plan for Facilities
Enhancement and Renewal). On Sept. 1, a new vice chancellor
for capital projects, Edward Denton, was appointed to
oversee all capital projects, including the seismic program.
In recent months informational presentations have been
made to city staff and the Planning Commission about the
SAFER Program. This fall, campus representatives will make
presentations to the City Council and to neighborhood and
community groups as the program moves forward.
Like the city and school district, the Berkeley campus
faces the difficult and expensive challenge of upgrading
aging facilities in a seismically vulnerable region. Yet
the goal is well worth the cost: a better and safer campus
and community. 
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