Reimagining RC Buildings: Integrative Retrofit Solutions for Seismic and Energy Resilience

Reinforced Concrete (RC) buildings, widely used across the globe, often face vulnerabilities due to aging structures, seismic hazards, and energy inefficiencies. With growing urban populations and climate change challenges, there is a pressing need to reimagine existing RC buildings through integrative retrofit strategies. These approaches aim to simultaneously enhance seismic performance and energy efficiency, offering a holistic solution that improves safety, sustainability, and long-term functionality. By combining advanced materials, structural innovations, and energy-saving technologies, integrative retrofitting ensures buildings are better equipped to withstand earthquakes while reducing environmental impact. This dual-resilience approach not only extends the service life of RC structures but also contributes to greener, safer urban environments.

The primary goal of this initiative is to develop and implement integrative retrofit solutions for existing RC buildings that address both seismic vulnerability and energy inefficiency. Many RC buildings constructed before modern codes lack the structural resilience needed to withstand earthquakes and perform poorly in terms of energy consumption. Traditional retrofitting methods often focus on either seismic strengthening or energy upgrades in isolation, missing the opportunity for more efficient, cost-effective interventions.This Special Issue (SI) seeks to merge structural engineering with sustainable design principles to create retrofit strategies that enhance a building’s seismic performance while also reducing energy demand. By leveraging advanced materials, innovative construction techniques, and interdisciplinary collaboration, the aim is to produce scalable and adaptable retrofit models. These solutions should be technically sound, economically viable, and environmentally sustainable. Ultimately, the SI aspires to contribute to the transformation of vulnerable RC building stock into resilient, energy-efficient infrastructure capable of supporting sustainable urban development and climate adaptation goals.

This Research Topic invites contributions that explore innovative, integrative retrofit strategies for enhancing the seismic and energy resilience of existing RC buildings. We seek interdisciplinary research that bridges structural engineering, materials science, energy modeling, and sustainability.

Specific themes include, but not are limited to:

- Dual-purpose retrofit techniques addressing both seismic and energy performance;

- Use of advanced materials (e.g., FRPs, shape memory alloys, insulation systems);

- Performance-based design and assessment methodologies;

- Life-cycle cost and environmental impact analysis of retrofit solutions;

- Case studies and real-world applications of integrated retrofits;

- Policy, regulatory frameworks, and incentive mechanisms for holistic retrofitting.

We welcome original research articles, case studies, review papers, and short communications. Innovative methodologies, experimental findings, numerical simulations, and interdisciplinary approaches are especially encouraged to foster practical, scalable solutions.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Review

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Review

Keywords: RC buildings, Seismic retrofit, Energy resilience, Integrated approach, Climate adaption, Sustainability

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.