Summary of the Post-Earthquake Safety Assessment of the Atrium Building

Notices

Overview of the Inspection

  • Inspected Property: Atrium Building (Edificio Atrium).
  • Location: El Rosal, Chacao Municipality, Miranda State, Venezuela.
  • Date and Time of Inspection: June 26, 2026, from 4:23 PM to 6:13 PM.
  • Purpose: To evaluate building damage following an earthquake that occurred on the holiday of June 24, 2026.
  • Inspectors: Civil Engineers Antonio Iachini, Andrés García, and Alejandro Chirinos, on behalf of the Venezuelan Foundation for Seismological Research (FUNVISIS).

Building Profile

  • Usage: Mixed-use (Commercial and Offices). It houses private corporate offices, various Chacao municipal government offices, the Caracas Stock Exchange, and the Embassies of Italy (located on the Penthouse floor) and South Africa.
  • Structure: Built in 1988, the building consists of 13 floors (10 office floors, 2 commercial levels at the base, a mezzanine, and a ground floor) and 6 basement parking levels accommodating up to 330 vehicles. Its structural system relies on reinforced concrete frames with circular and rectangular columns, beams, and ribbed floor slabs.

Key Findings & Observations

The visual inspection evaluated both internal and external components of the building:

  1. Structural Elements (No Damage)
    • Beams, Columns, and Slabs: Found fully intact with no visible cracks.
    • Beam-Column Joints (Nodes): Intact with no visible cracking.
  1. Non-Structural Elements (Damaged)
    • Internal Walls: Suffered cracking but have maintained their vertical alignment.
    • Emergency Stairwells: The decorative, open-work brickwork (ladrillos calados) in the north and south stair cores shows cracks and separation, posing a falling hazard.
    • Elevator Lobby: Displacement of the granite cladding around the elevator frames was observed.
    • Building Facade: Clay tiles (tablillas de arcilla) have detached and fallen off the exterior walls.
    • Roofing / Terrace: The asphalt waterproofing membrane surrounding the glass roof over the main lobby shows separations at several spots. This is causing rainwater to leak into the interior and damage the drywall ceiling.

Final Decision & Classification

  • Safety Rating: Yellow Tag (Class B) – Restricted Access / Enter with Caution.
  • Justification: While the main structural frame (beams, columns, slabs) remains completely unaffected, the overall safety of the building is compromised due to falling hazards from the damaged emergency stairwell brick walls and the detaching exterior facade tiles.

Recommendations & Security Measures

The inspectors ordered the immediate implementation of the following actions:

  • Perimeter Safety: Cordon off affected exterior zones and restrict pedestrian and vehicular traffic nearby to protect users from falling debris.
  • Access Control: Establish a temporary pedestrian path through the basement to guide users safely into the main reception and elevator area (pending an inspection of elevator functionality by specialists).
  • Urgent Repairs:
    • Demolish and rebuild the damaged open-work brick walls in the emergency stairwells to ensure safe evacuation routes.
    • Remove and repair all loose or detached clay tile cladding on the facades.
    • Repair internal and external wall cracks caused by the seismic movement.
    • Fix the separated asphalt membrane around the glass roof to stop the water leaks.
    • Waterproof all building planters and clear out their drainage systems.
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