PURPOSE OF THE CONSULTANCY
Edmund Booth Consulting Engineer exists to provide high level advice on the seismic design, analysis and assessment of building, industrial, nuclear and other types of structure. It is based on the 35 years experience of Edmund Booth in civil and structural engineering, and his involvement of 25 years in seismic engineering. Edmund Booth is author of the second edition of the textbook ‘Earthquake design practice for buildings’ published in 2006 by Thomas Telford Ltd.
The consultancy is a member of the Association for Consultancy and Engineering (ACE).


- The main resource of the consultancy is the 42 years experience of its principal,
Edmund Booth, 29 years of which has been spent in the field of earthquake engineering.
He has extensive experience in the design, analysis, assessment and upgrading of
a wide range of structures, and in seismic code development, seismic hazard assessment
and seismic reliability determination. He is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering
and from 1998 to 2003, he was Visiting Professor of Civil Engineering at the University
of Oxford .
- The program SAP2000 , originally developed at University of California, Berkeley
to solve seismic problems, and recently updated, is maintained in-house, and can
solve a wide range of 2 and 3-D static and dynamic linear and non-linear problems.
- The Berkeley program SIMQKE1, which generates artificial time histories compatible
with a target spectrum, has been developed inhouse to improve the nature of the record,
provide the ease of use, and correct some minor errors in the original code; typical
results are shown here.
- An extensive library of seismic codes of practice and other earthquake references
is held in-house, and there is on-line access to a number of general and specialist
databases. There is particular expertise in the European seismic code, EC8.
- The consultancy maintains active links with leading international researchers, both
in the field of seismic design, testing and analysis, and also in the field of structural
safety and reliability.

The consultancy was founded in 1995. Since that time, its work has included the following.
- Advice on the seismic design and analysis of many buildings and industrial facilities
worldwide, to a wide range of clients.
- Site survey, assessment and retrofit recommendations for buildings in South America,
Albania, Algeria, Istanbul, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Peru,
Pakistan, Armenia, Bulgaria, Indonesia, Georgia and India (principally for Foreign
& Commonwealth Office).
- Review of seismic strengthening of Antalya Airport terminal building, Turkey using
seismic isolation bearings (for Parsons Brinckerhoff/AYT).
- Principal seismic adviser to Owen Williams/Laing JV on major programme of survey,
assessment and seismic retrofit for 57 rc, steel and masonry hospitals in Turkey.
- Independent structure assessments and seismic design advice on projects for the nuclear
industry at Sellafield, Aldermaston, Devonport and Dounreay, for a number of clients.
- Survey of earthquake damage to the port of Manzanillo, Mexico, for insurance purposes
(for Posford Haskoning/TT Club Miami).
- Survey of performance of historic buildings in Gujarat India, following the January
2001 earthquake (for INTACH).
- Structural consultant to TEFER project, for improvement of natural hazard insurance
and disaster funding strategy in Turkey, for CAR/Willis. Development of structural
loss models for reinsurance purposes, for CAR/PartnerRe.
- Seismic design advice on approach jetty for major oil berthing facility on BTC pipeline,
Ceyhan Turkey, for ILF Beratende Ingenieure, Austria.
- Seismic design advice for LNG tanks, petrochemical plants & bridges in Iran, India,
Indonesia, the Philippines and Oman, for Foster Wheeler
- Organisation and presentation of courses on seismic engineering for Ove Arup & Partners
(1995), SECED/Imperial College (1996, 1999,2004, 2006,2008) and Institution of Structural
Engineers (1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2008). Presenter (in French)
at Ponts et Chaussées courses, Paris (1998, 1999). Lecturer for a module on the
Imperial College earthquake engineering MSc course (2005 to present), Nottingham
Trent University (2002-2004) and Sheffield University (2005).
Before starting the practice, its principal, Edmund Booth, was Designated Seismic
Specialist in London for the Ove Arup Partnership, where he was involved in a very
wide range of building, industrial, offshore and other civil engineering structures.

THE HAITI EARTHQUAKE OF JANUARY 2010
In April 2010, Edmund Booth led a three person team to Port-au-Prince to investigate
some aspects of this earthquake, under the banner of EEFIT, the UK’s earthquake engineering
field investigation team. The team’s findings have been published on the Institution
of Structural Engineers website as an EEFIT report, and in a paper in the Earthquake
Spectra special issue on Haiti. The team gave a report at the Institution of Structural
Engineers in May 2010, and a webcast has been posted on the Institution’s website.
An archive of the team’s photos, with locations shown on the Google Earth map of
Haiti, can be accessed by clicking here.
To
the Cypress Viaduct, click here! (may take a minute or two to load).
To perform a
of this building, click here! (takes a few seconds to load).
Edmund Booth, Consulting Engineer
2 Miswell Cottages
Icknield Way
Tring HP23 4JU
UK
tel: 01442 891 007 (+44 1442 891 007 outside UK)
e-mail: edmund@booth-seismic.co.uk
Site last updated 19 January 2012
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