Design of Buckling Restrained Braced Frame Structure for the “Marie Skłodowska Curie” Hospital in Bucharest

This paper explores the novel use of Buckling Restrained Braces (BRBs) in building a new wing at the “Marie Skłodowska Curie” Emergency Hospital for Children in Bucharest, Romania – the country’s first such application. Despite BRBs’ proven seismic resilience since their 1970s inception in Japan, their European adoption has been slow, largely due to lacking specific design guidelines. This project leverages Romania’s 2013 seismic provisions for Buckling Restrained Braced Frames (BRBFs), showcasing the system’s advantages in terms of speed, stiffness, and seismic performance. Through a collaborative effort among academics, engineers, and manufacturers, the paper navigates the design and fabrication challenges posed by the system’s novelty and the fabricator’s inexperience with such systems. Supported by experimental and numerical analysis, the project confirms BRBFs’ viability, highlighting their cost-effective, high-performance benefits for seismic safety.