Construction Techniques and Detailing for Romanian Paiantă Houses: An Engineering Perspective

Traditional houses represent landmarks of local cultures all over the world. In seismically prone countries, the traditional timber frames with different types of infills have shown quite good earthquake resilience, an essential feature considering their large number, their simplicity and their reduced cost, owing to the use of local materials and workmanship. In fact, their seismic behavior fostered the interest in further scientific research, including that addressing engineering aspects. Because of their diversity in layout and detailing, noticeable even among houses in the same area, developing general methods to preserve and strengthen such buildings is still a difficult task. This paper presents an overview of the traditional building construction techniques in Romania, focusing on the structural configuration and detailing of the so-called paiantă houses. Largely used all over the country, these houses have shown that they can generally withstand earthquakes at least without collapsing and, most frequently, with minor or repairable damage. Their preservation is nowadays a major challenge, as they are being gradually either demolished and replaced, or retrofitted by using invasive techniques. Their cultural and heritage value is undeniable, and there are still many things to be learned from the past craftsmanship and re-valuated in the future. Three case studies of rural buildings located in different areas of the country were chosen among the most widespread paiantă versions, and comprehensive engineering assessments were conducted to identify their detailing and degradations. Based on the most common degradations, the conclusions drawn from this study can be used to substantiate further research aimed at selecting the most appropriate construction and strengthening techniques.