Combining Architectural Conservation and Seismic Strengthening in the Wood-Based Retrofitting of a Monumental Timber Roof: The Case Study of St. Andrew’s Church in Ceto, Brescia, Italy

This work presents the application of timber-based retrofitting techniques to a case-study stone masonry church featuring a wooden roof from 18th century. From the static point of view, the original roof structure presented a number of undersized structural elements, and its members were poorly or not connected among each other and to the masonry, making the church vulnerable to seismic loads as well. Thus, the roof was retrofitted with wood-based techniques, including an overlay of plywood panels, against seismic actions. These affordable, rapid, easily realizable interventions enabled both the conservation and seismic retrofitting of the roof, providing an adequate load-carrying capacity for static loads, and an effective diaphragm action against seismic loads. The conducted numerical analyses showed that the realized interventions greatly improve the seismic behaviour of the building. Besides, when the additional energy dissipation provided by the plywood panels overlay is taken into account in the numerical model, the church would even potentially be able to fully withstand the expected seismic action of the site.