Structural Assessment and Seismic Performance of Traditional Stone houses in Dropulli region

The settlement of Derviçan are located next to the important urban center of Gjirokastra, a world heritage of UNESCO. Derviçan is the biggest village in the area and has served as an administrative center for many years. Due to massive emigration and migration trends in the past, there are many abandoned houses which have distinct architectural characteristics and reflect cultural and historical values. The villages that have been abandoned in the recent decades, constitute a serious problem which is all too common in many Balkan countries. As a result, many buildings are in a degraded state, both architectural and structural. The aim of this paper is to examine the problems in Derviçan’s traditional houses and their structures, and to make a technical assessment of the damages prior to a structural repairing strategy in a second phase. This study will focus on the analysis of old houses and their structures, built with unreinforced traditional masonry, where a lot of problems have been identified as a result of the degradation of material parameters over the years. Initially, there is a need for a detailed analysis of the typology of buildings in this area, and the construction of traditional stone walls and stone tiles without mortar. After this identification, a matrix will be created with façade and structural damages. The typical damages are cracks in the walls, carvings between the windows, corner damage, wall displacements, and water infiltration and insects. The methodology chosen for this particular context assesses the typical collapse mechanisms. This procedure is also useful to define the seismic vulnerability for other similar regions.